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CNN Saturday Morning News
Rwandan Troops Exit Republic of Congo
Aired October 05, 2002 - 07:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The exodus of Rwandan troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo continues. We're told the very last of those troops may be crossing the border now from Congo into Rwanda, perhaps closing a chapter on a bitter conflict there.
For more on this, we turn now to CNN's Catherine Bond, who is on the border -- Catherine.
CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the moment that marks the end of Rwanda's four-year occupation of parts of the Congo. As you can see, Rwandan troops are walking across the frontier here from the Congo into Rwanda, going home, some of them for the first time in a couple of years.
They've been out in parts of the Congo that many people have never even visited. They've been chasing Rwanda's (UNINTELLIGIBLE), those militias and military who they hold responsible for participation in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 when more than 800,000 people were killed -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Catherine, there's some dispute as to whether this might, in fact, be the last of the troops. Is there any way to independently verify if we are seeing what we are told we are seeing?
BOND: The United Nations is to verify the withdrawal of the Rwandan troops and other armies from the Congo. It says it can't say yet whether Rwandans have withdrawn, but after checking their bases and barracks after their departure today will be able to say whether those Rwandans they know of have gone.
There was a report that some units had come back into an area south of here to quell a rebellion. That report has been refuted by Rwanda's army spokesman. It's also possible that in the future, Rwanda may come back in from time to time if it perceives any of what goes on here to be a security threat to Rwanda itself.
But the chief of staff of the Rwandan army did say just an hour or so ago that Rwanda didn't want to come back in, and that it didn't have any intention of coming back in to occupy the Congo again, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Catherine, have you had a sense, a chance to get the sense of the people in the Congo? Is there a sense of relief and jubilation, or are they waiting and seeing?
BOND: A sense of relief and apprehension, relief because they don't really like to have what they perceive as foreign armies upon their ground, and apprehension because the people who are going to fill Rwanda's shoes here are not militarily very strong. And when they have been strong, their human rights record has been extremely poor.
So there's apprehension that there might be conflicts between them and between militias called the Mai-Mai (ph) who have actually moved in to occupy a number of Rwandan towns that the Rwandans have vacated in the past two weeks. They're not perceived as a threat to Congolese civilians in themselves. They don't all behave with great discipline, so in that sense they could pose a security risk.
But many Congolese perceive the Mai-Mai as a nationalistic force, and I think many of their concerns are whether or not there will be conflict between the people taking control here, who are known as the Rally for Congolese Democracy, a rebel group the Rwandans support, and the Mai-Mai militias, who are opposed to them, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. So apparently into the vacuum, more conflict might occur.
CNN's Catherine Bond on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 5, 2002 - 07:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The exodus of Rwandan troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo continues. We're told the very last of those troops may be crossing the border now from Congo into Rwanda, perhaps closing a chapter on a bitter conflict there.
For more on this, we turn now to CNN's Catherine Bond, who is on the border -- Catherine.
CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the moment that marks the end of Rwanda's four-year occupation of parts of the Congo. As you can see, Rwandan troops are walking across the frontier here from the Congo into Rwanda, going home, some of them for the first time in a couple of years.
They've been out in parts of the Congo that many people have never even visited. They've been chasing Rwanda's (UNINTELLIGIBLE), those militias and military who they hold responsible for participation in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 when more than 800,000 people were killed -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Catherine, there's some dispute as to whether this might, in fact, be the last of the troops. Is there any way to independently verify if we are seeing what we are told we are seeing?
BOND: The United Nations is to verify the withdrawal of the Rwandan troops and other armies from the Congo. It says it can't say yet whether Rwandans have withdrawn, but after checking their bases and barracks after their departure today will be able to say whether those Rwandans they know of have gone.
There was a report that some units had come back into an area south of here to quell a rebellion. That report has been refuted by Rwanda's army spokesman. It's also possible that in the future, Rwanda may come back in from time to time if it perceives any of what goes on here to be a security threat to Rwanda itself.
But the chief of staff of the Rwandan army did say just an hour or so ago that Rwanda didn't want to come back in, and that it didn't have any intention of coming back in to occupy the Congo again, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Catherine, have you had a sense, a chance to get the sense of the people in the Congo? Is there a sense of relief and jubilation, or are they waiting and seeing?
BOND: A sense of relief and apprehension, relief because they don't really like to have what they perceive as foreign armies upon their ground, and apprehension because the people who are going to fill Rwanda's shoes here are not militarily very strong. And when they have been strong, their human rights record has been extremely poor.
So there's apprehension that there might be conflicts between them and between militias called the Mai-Mai (ph) who have actually moved in to occupy a number of Rwandan towns that the Rwandans have vacated in the past two weeks. They're not perceived as a threat to Congolese civilians in themselves. They don't all behave with great discipline, so in that sense they could pose a security risk.
But many Congolese perceive the Mai-Mai as a nationalistic force, and I think many of their concerns are whether or not there will be conflict between the people taking control here, who are known as the Rally for Congolese Democracy, a rebel group the Rwandans support, and the Mai-Mai militias, who are opposed to them, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. So apparently into the vacuum, more conflict might occur.
CNN's Catherine Bond on the border of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
