Global Policy Forum

The guns fell silent last week in eastern Congo, thanks to the signing of a UN-backed agreement between Congolese rebel groups operating in Bunia and the Ugandan army. It is now anticipated that the Ituri Pacification Commission (IPC), established by the September 2002 Luanda agreement between Uganda and Congo to bring peace among the area's ethnic groups, will be allowed to operate.

Uganda has in the past accused Thomas Lubanga's People's Union of Congo (UPC) of blocking the IPC. This is one of the reasons for the clash between the two on March 6 in Bunia. Lubanga has opposed the commission, saying it is part of a plot by Uganda and the Congo government to allow their own people to control the area.

It is the expectation of the Congolese people and observers of the conflict in that country that all interested parties in Bunia will keep their part of the bargain to help end the suffering of area residents. Estimates put the number of displaced people in Bunia at close to 500,000. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Uganda and Rwanda to justify their taking their differences to Congo. Their excuse that they are in the DRC to safeguard their security should be enough reason for them to ensure that the ceasefire holds.

Whatever their interest, it is inexcusable to make innocent Congolese civilians the victims of their squabbles. The Congolese people have suffered for far too long; it is time they were allowed to concentrate on bringing their country back to the rule of law. It is imperative that the peace agreement be allowed to work because a new flare-up would have far-reaching consequences as the world's attention remains focused on the Gulf crisis. Even the UN, which has in the past been at the forefront in monitoring the excesses of the warring parties in Congo, is now engrossed in the US-led war on Iraq.

While the world body has in the past intervened in the conflict, naming a panel to probe reports of the plunder of Congo's resources and sending a military observer mission to Congo, the UN cannot be said to have done much to end the fighting. The observers sent to the area are too few and their mandate does not go beyond mere observing. The March 6 encounter with UPC forces led to the UPDF capture of strategic airstrips at Bunia, Tchomia, Mukambo, Muhagi, Irumu, Mungbwaho, Aruu, Yedi, Kpandroma and Bule.

Brigadier Kale Kaihura, the Chief Political Commissar of the Ugandan army, who is overseeing the operation in Congo, said the army's operations in the area had stopped because the airstrips had been secured. "We call upon the UN to send observers to the airstrips," he said. The Ugandan army has said all the signatories to the Lusaka agreement should find a neutral third party to take over the security of Ituri province. Hopefully, this will herald the end of the hostilities in Congo.