Congolese president accuses Rwandans of helping rebels seize Bukavu

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Joseph Kabila said Wednesday that troops loyal to former rebel commanders captured the eastern town of Bukavu with the help of Rwandans, vowing to recapture it from them.

Kabila said on state television "Bukavu is under the control of Rwandan occupants. It's an aggression against our country by Rwandans who control the town of Bukavu."

Bukavu is the capital of the eastern Sud-Kivu province, an important trading center on the border with Rwanda.

Kabila added "we have decided to mobilize our resources and men and finances to defend ourselves. The army is mobilizing with the objective of retaking control of Bukavu to install our authority."

The rebel troops were led by Brig. Gen. Laurent Nkunda and Col. Jules Mutebutsi, both Congolese Tutsis and formerly belonged to Rwandan backed rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy, which controlled much of eastern DRC, including Bukavu during the war. The group joined a government of national unity last year and their troops were to be integrated into a new army.

The loss of Bukavu is almost unanimously seen as the biggest setback to the transitional government of the DRC since it was setup last June to end the civil war in which an estimated 3.5 million people died.

Source: Xinhua