Congo rebel leader accuses rival of coup attempt

KIGALI, Rwanda (Reuters) -- A leader of a Ugandan-backed rebel movement in northeastern Congo accused a rival on Saturday of attempting a coup against him and warned the move may lead to bloodshed.

Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, who heads the RCD-ML movement, told Reuters that supporters of his rival Mbusa Nyamwisi took over a rebel-controlled radio station in Bunia on Friday and were broadcasting announcements saying dia Wamba had been deposed.

"That is a message being passed on the radio by somebody who is not yet controlling the situation," dia Wamba said by satellite telephone from his home in Bunia.

"We don't know what they are going to do next or what they have in mind, but it may lead to unnecessary bloodshed, that's the sad part."

Dia Wamba said that Nyamwisi supporters -- a mixture of Congolese militiamen and Ugandan soldiers operating in the area -- were still in control of the radio station and had brought in heavy weaponry to protect it.

He said there had been no fight for the radio and added that the town was now calm but tense.

The RCD-ML is one of several rebel factions, backed by Uganda and Rwanda, fighting in a war against Democratic Republic of the Congo President Laurent Kabila, whose army is supported by troops from Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia.

Dia Wamba formed his own faction with help from Uganda after being ousted in May 1999 from the main Rwandan-backed rebel group based in Goma, further south.

But Dia Wamba has been repeatedly challenged by Nyamwisi, his former second-in-command, who has been accused of forming militias to oust dia Wamba.

Nyamwisi was expelled from the RCD-ML several months ago but brought back into the movement after an agreement last week.

"We had this political agreement but sometimes you can't put water and fire together. He went back on his word," dia Wamba said. "He wanted to have control of resources...He made promises to people, promises about money and diamonds."

Dia Wamba said some Ugandan soldiers in Bunia were still backing him but said others -- given the green light by the influential Ugandan Brigadier-General James Kazini -- had turned against him.

Ugandan army spokesman Major Phineas Katirima said Ugandan troops deployed in the area were only there to "ensure law and order." He said the Ugandan army had recently changed commanders in Bunia, but gave no other comment.

Dia Wamba said that he had been in touch by telephone with "the leadership" in the Ugandan capital Kampala to try to resolve the situation.

The radio announcement in Bunia accused dia Wamba of institutionalizing "ethnic hatred within his government by refueling old ethnic conflicts," as well as "calling for hatred of our friends the Ugandans."

Since dia Wamba's group moved into northeastern Congo, a local ethnic conflict between the Hema and Lendu people has flared up violently, killing thousands of people in the area.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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