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Friday, 2 August, 2002, 11:01 GMT 12:01 UK
Congo rebels want foreign troops out
Rwanda, South Africa and DR Congo presidents
The peace accord is expected to end Africa's biggest war
A Rwandan backed rebel group operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo says it wants the removal of all foreign troops from the country - not just Rwandan troops.

The group, RCD Goma, was reacting to the peace agreement between Rwanda and the DR Congo, signed on Tuesday.


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News imagePeace deal
  • 90 day timetable
  • Rwanda to withdraw 30,000 troops from DR Congo
  • DR Congo to disarm 'Interahamwe' militias


  • News image
    In an interview with the BBC's Great Lakes section, the secretary general of the RCD, Azarias Ruberwa, called for Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Uganda to pull their forces out of the country.

    Zimbabwe has said that the peace deal has "moved closer" the date for the withdrawal of its troops.

    The bulk of its soldiers have already been withdrawn since an earlier peace deal was signed but around 8,000 remain, according to the Associated Press news agency.

    Mr Ruberwa also said that his movement wanted a government of national unity - in which President Joseph Kabila would be represented along with members of the RCD and the Ugandan backed rebels of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC).

    Repatriating rebels

    The peace agreement, signed in South Africa by the presidents of the DR Congo and Rwanda, requires the tracking down and disarmament of Rwandan Hutu rebels in the DR Congo.

    The United Nations force in the DR Congo will then be asked to set up a programme for the repatriation of Rwandans in co-ordination with the two governments.

    But an organisation representing Rwandan Hutu rebels inside the country has already rejected the peace deal.

    The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) said they would not return voluntarily to Rwanda and would resist any attempt to "trample" on their rights.

    For its part, Rwanda wants them to be sent back to Rwanda or to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania

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