Rwanda to Pull out Troops from Congo on Sept. 17: Official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, September 17, 2002

Rwanda to Pull out Troops from Congo on Sept. 17: Official

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Rwanda has decided to withdraw its troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from Tuesday in accordance with the international agreements after their four years of existence in the DRC, said a Rwandan senior official.

The first group of soldiers to be pulled out included 1,500 troops stationed in eastern towns of Kindu and Kalima, said Rwandan Communications Minister Joseph Bideri on Monday.

It is estimated that there are some 20,000-40,000 Rwandans forces deployed in the DRC, ranking the largest foreign troops involving in the DRC conflict, which also included Uganda and Burundi on the side of rebel forces, and Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia on the side of the Kinshasa government, local radio reported on Tuesday.

On Monday, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who is in Nigeria fora three-day official visit, also said that his troops will withdraw from the neighboring country "as soon as feasible."

"Our withdrawal plan is already with the third party, the Republic of South Africa. However, we are still concerned with our security," he said in a lecture at the National War College in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

The Rwandan troops entered eastern DRC in 1998, when the civil war broke out in the vast central African country, which has so far claimed some 2.5 million lives.

On July 30, Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace deal in Pretoria,South Africa, according to which, the Rwandan forces would withdraw from the DRC soil within 90 days.

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