Uganda has called for an urgent summit with the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) to diffuse the rising border tension that
has so far left five people dead and several injured, a senior
official said on Tuesday.
Okello Oryem, minister of state for international affairs, told
Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday that several attempts at both
military and ministerial level have not yielded much, thus
warranting for an urgent summit between the countries.
He said the Ugandan government sent a senior minister to
Kinshasa inviting the authorities there for talks but they have not
turned up.
He noted that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has made various
attempts to speak to his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila but in
vain.
"So we now think that these two leaders should meet face to face
so that these issues are sorted out," Oryem said.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated at the end of
July when four Ugandan soldiers patrolling Lake Albert were
captured by the Congolese government troops, who accused them of
crossing into the DRC territory.
Days after the capture, the Congolese troops attacked an oil
barge near the disputed Rukwanzi Island on Lake Albert, killing a
British oil surveyor. A Congolese soldier was also killed in the
exchange of fire.
It is indicated by earlier media report that the enchanting
findings of oil potential estimated at 1 billion barrels along the
border area is also a source of the recent skirmish.
Shortly after this attack, it is reported that unknown gunmen
from DRC crossed into Uganda and attacked the border town of
Butogota in Kanungu district, 450 km southwest of Kampala, killing
three people and seriously injuring one.
Oryem warned that Uganda still has the right of self-defense and
hot pursuit, but has decided to exploit all the diplomatic ways to
defuse the tensions.
"We sent our Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kuteesa to Kinshasa
to liaise with the officials there to arrange the summit as soon as
possible so that these problems are solved," Oryem said.
He said Kuteesa, who left on Monday, will also have a meeting
with Kabila to discuss the joint oil exploration between the two
countries, Ugandan rebel groups hiding in DRC and the border
dispute.
He also urged the DRC to use the bilateral and regional avenues
to address its concerns instead of carrying out hostile
activities.
Two top officials in the Ugandan cabinet, Security Minister
Amama Mbabazi and Defense Minister Crispus Kiyonga, both sent stern
warnings over the weekend that the Ugandan army may consider to
re-enter the DRC for self-defense.
Uganda sent troops into the DRC in 1998 to pursue the rebels of
the Allied Democratic Forces, but the army was later reportedly
involved in the fighting between factional forces and the
plundering of the country's rich national resources.
(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2007)
