February 2, 2001
Congo withdrew its cases in the World Court against two neighbors it accused of ``armed aggression,'' taking the action the day before the assassination of President Laurent Kabila last month.
The court said Thursday it had removed the 18-month-old cases against Rwanda and Burundi from its docket at Congo's request. But the central African country had not dropped charges against a third neighbor, Uganda, the court said.
The letter from Congo seeking to discontinue the case was dated Jan. 15, one day before Kabila was shot dead in the capital, Kinshasa. The court said it immediately forwarded the letter to Rwanda and Burundi. Within the following week, both agreed the case should be dropped, it said.
After being sworn in to replace his father on Jan. 26, Joseph Kabila expressed a willingness to re- establish a 1999 peace accord that had been cast aside by his father and rebels backed by hostile neighbors.
The announcement from The Hague coincided with a groundbreaking meeting in Washington on Thursday between Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, aimed at reviving peace talks to end the six-nation conflict.
Congo had filed separate suits against Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi on June 23, 1999, accusing all three of armed aggression in violation of international treaties and demanding a withdrawal of foreign forces from its territory. It accused their soldiers of widespread looting, rape and murder.
Four months later, Rwanda and Burundi contested the World Court's jurisdiction to intervene, but Uganda filed no similar motion.
The World Court, formally known as the International Court of Justice, is the highest U.N. judicial body. It relies on the Security Council to enforce its rulings.
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