Tensions rise in Congo as Uganda denies taking part in massacre By William Wallis in Nairobi April 8 2003 Financial Times
Ugandan army commanders were quick to deny yesterday any involvement of their troops in the massacre of nearly 1,000 civilians in the Congolese province of Ituri last week.
But those denials are unlikely to quell rising tension over Uganda's continued presence in Congo months after the other countries involved in its protracted war have formally withdrawn.
According to initial investigations by the United Nations force in Congo (Monuc), the mass killings of ethnic Hema villagers took place shortly after the main factions in Congo's war signed a peace deal in South Africa last week. The deal is aimed at reunifying the country and restoring stability under a transitional government.
The killings also follow weeks of tension between Uganda and Rwanda over their roles in eastern Congo, which has brought the two former allies close to blows.
The war in Congo, which began in 1998, had its origins in the lawless eastern regions bordering the two countries. The latest killings underline just how difficult it is going to be for a "national unity government" to prepare for elections and stamp its authority on areas that have long been beyond the reach of the far-off capital, Kinshasa.
The UN has recently increased its presence in Congo. But with under 4,000 troops in a country twice the size of western Europe, sceptics doubt Monuc's ability to play an effective role.
In 1998, Uganda and Rwanda justified their involvement in attempting to overthrow the Congo government through direct military intervention and proxy rebel groups as an operation aimed at securing their own borders.
The rebel groups they have funded and armed have multiplied since, with the Congolese government also fostering new groups. In the process, Congo's east has become the main battlefield.
As many as 50,000 people have been killed and more than 500,000 displaced by fighting in Ituri alone. Eyewitnesses from the cattle-rearing Hema group said the attackers in last week's massacre were from rival farmers of the Lendu group. Affiliated rebels accused Ugandan soldiers of taking part in the killings. Some commentators believe recent discoveries by Canada's Heritage Oil in the Semiliki basin in Uganda and its likely extension into Congo's east have raised the stakes.
The Ugandan army said yesterday that troops had been sent to the village where last week's massacre took place amid threats of retaliation. Regardless of the veracity, this will be fuel for those who accuse the Ugandan army of acting both as fireman and arsonist, exploiting violence in the area to safeguard control over resources.
Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's president, is due to mediate tomorrow in talks between presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda in a move to quell the tensions.