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Kabila discusses DR Congo conflict with neighbours

Agence France-Presse | 11/22/2008 1:41 AM

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LUANDA - Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos voiced support Friday for Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila as he denounced the conflict in eastern DR Congo.

"(Dos Santos) condemned the armed rebellion and the possible external interferences. He reaffirms his support for the Congolese people and the government which was legitimately elected," a statement said after the two leaders met in the Angolan capital.

In the statement, which did not mention military intervention by Angola, the two presidents called for various peace agreements to be urgently implemented and for greater global aid for civilian victims of the conflict.

Speaking at Brazzaville airport before departing for Angola and Gabon, Kabila said the humanitarian situation in eastern Congo was "dramatic and catastrophic".

"Nearly two million of our compatriots are dispersed around Goma and beyond," he said, referring to the main city in the east of his vast and troubled country.

He did not specify over what period those two million had been displaced, but fighting has plagued the east since the end of August.

Kabila's spokesman Kudura Kasongo said a special summit of the 10-nation Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on the Congo crisis will take place next week in Kinshasa, although a firm date has yet to be set.

Angola has repeatedly denied speculation that it has sent troops over the border to quell the unrest and said it will only intervene if called on to do so by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.

Angola's army had intervened to support Congo during strife that raged in the Great Lakes region from 1998-2003.

Renegade general Laurent Nkunda, who leads the rebel forces in eastern Congo, has warned that a deployment of Angolan troops would risk setting "the Great Lakes region on fire."

Summarizing his two hours of talks with Congo-Brazzaville counterpart Denis Sassou Nguesso, Kabila said the focus was on "dialogue as the best way to resolve the problem on the ground".

"We also insisted on supporting those who have been displaced," he added.

Sassou Nguesso said: "We give our total support to all efforts that contribute to a definitive solution to this situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo."

In a joint statement, the two presidents appealed to the international community to help refugees from the fighting. However, it made no mention of next week's Kinshasa summit.

as of 11/22/2008 1:41 AM