UN separates clashing forces in Congo

Columbus News.Net
Wednesday 19th November, 2008

The UN has confirmed military withdrawals are in progress in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to UN commanders, rebel fighters have pulled back from two volatile areas in the eastern region of the country.

Rebel fighters led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda promised to move at least 40 kilometers away from the northern towns of Kiwanja and and Kanyabayonga in North Kivu province.

The rebels, known as the National Congress for the Defense of the People, called on UN peacekeepers to patrol a zone of separation between themselves and the army.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote soon on whether to add 3,000 more peacekeeping troops to its Congo mission.

Government forces and Nkunda's rebels have been fighting since the collapse of a January peace deal.

Nkunda says he is fighting to protect minority Tutsi communities from Rwandan Hutu extremists who entered the region after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

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