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| Face-to-face with DR Congo rebel chief | Face-to-face with DR Congo rebel chief |
| (28 minutes later) | |
| By Mark Doyle BBC world affairs correspondent Laurent Nkunda claims to be protecting his Tutsi community from attacks | By Mark Doyle BBC world affairs correspondent Laurent Nkunda claims to be protecting his Tutsi community from attacks |
| High above sea level, nestling on the stunningly beautiful Massisi Plateau of eastern Congo, lies the village of Kilolirwe. | High above sea level, nestling on the stunningly beautiful Massisi Plateau of eastern Congo, lies the village of Kilolirwe. |
| The dirt roads leading the way, lined with eucalyptus trees, are cut out of black volcanic earth. | The dirt roads leading the way, lined with eucalyptus trees, are cut out of black volcanic earth. |
| It is a place of soaring hills and verdant green pastureland, often covered in mountain mists. | It is a place of soaring hills and verdant green pastureland, often covered in mountain mists. |
| It is also just a few kilometres from the headquarters of one of the country's most feared rebel leaders, General Laurent Nkunda, whose recent military offensive in the region has displaced a quarter of a million people. | It is also just a few kilometres from the headquarters of one of the country's most feared rebel leaders, General Laurent Nkunda, whose recent military offensive in the region has displaced a quarter of a million people. |
| I reached Kilolirwe by crossing the front line between government troops and rebels, which in this area lies just outside the town of Sake, 25km (15 miles) west of Goma. | I reached Kilolirwe by crossing the front line between government troops and rebels, which in this area lies just outside the town of Sake, 25km (15 miles) west of Goma. |
| Map of eastern DR Congo | |
| Here, the government forces have a checkpoint just 2km away from the first rebel position. | Here, the government forces have a checkpoint just 2km away from the first rebel position. |
| A small detachment of Indian soldiers from the United Nations peacekeeping force is between them. | A small detachment of Indian soldiers from the United Nations peacekeeping force is between them. |
| We had requested an interview with the general. | We had requested an interview with the general. |
| Clad in smart military uniform and surrounded by a clutch of heavily-armed rebel soldiers, Gen Nkunda claimed he would overthrow the government in the capital Kinshasa if Congolese President Joseph Kabila refused power-sharing talks. | Clad in smart military uniform and surrounded by a clutch of heavily-armed rebel soldiers, Gen Nkunda claimed he would overthrow the government in the capital Kinshasa if Congolese President Joseph Kabila refused power-sharing talks. |
| It is a demand that President Kabila has already rejected, saying that talking to the rebel leader would be "unconstitutional". | It is a demand that President Kabila has already rejected, saying that talking to the rebel leader would be "unconstitutional". |
| I asked General Nkunda if he was seriously suggesting that he would take over the whole of Congo. | I asked General Nkunda if he was seriously suggesting that he would take over the whole of Congo. |
| Peering through his thin-rimed spectacles, the tall ethnic Tutsi general stared at me for a moment and bluntly replied: "Of course." | Peering through his thin-rimed spectacles, the tall ethnic Tutsi general stared at me for a moment and bluntly replied: "Of course." |
| What right did a rebel leader have, I asked, to demand anything from the elected government of Congo? | What right did a rebel leader have, I asked, to demand anything from the elected government of Congo? |
| FORCES AROUND GOMA CNDP: Gen Nkunda's Tutsi rebels - 6,000 fightersFDLR: Rwandan Hutus - 6-7,000Mai Mai: pro-government militia - 3,500Monuc: UN peacekeepers - 800 (17,000 nationwide)DRC army - 50,000 (nationwide) Source: UN, military experts | FORCES AROUND GOMA CNDP: Gen Nkunda's Tutsi rebels - 6,000 fightersFDLR: Rwandan Hutus - 6-7,000Mai Mai: pro-government militia - 3,500Monuc: UN peacekeepers - 800 (17,000 nationwide)DRC army - 50,000 (nationwide) Source: UN, military experts |
| "I am a rebel, but the way to resolve the problem is to negotiate," he replied. | "I am a rebel, but the way to resolve the problem is to negotiate," he replied. |
| The "problem", in Gen Nkunda's eyes, has several strands. | The "problem", in Gen Nkunda's eyes, has several strands. |
| A key strand is what he perceives as the poor treatment DR Congo's ethnic Tutsis have suffered over the years; he says that defending Tutsis is the reason he took up arms. | A key strand is what he perceives as the poor treatment DR Congo's ethnic Tutsis have suffered over the years; he says that defending Tutsis is the reason he took up arms. |
| In his view the presence in DR Congo of ethnic Hutu militias alleged to have been involved in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis across the border in neighbouring Rwanda is, today, a real threat to Congolese Tutsis. | In his view the presence in DR Congo of ethnic Hutu militias alleged to have been involved in the 1994 genocide of Tutsis across the border in neighbouring Rwanda is, today, a real threat to Congolese Tutsis. |
| The links between the Tutsi cousins on both sides of the border between Congo and Rwanda have often led to accusations - by DR Congo and some western governments - that Rwanda backs the rebels. | The links between the Tutsi cousins on both sides of the border between Congo and Rwanda have often led to accusations - by DR Congo and some western governments - that Rwanda backs the rebels. |
| Kigali and Gen Nkunda routinely deny the charges - and the general duly obliged again when I asked him the question. | Kigali and Gen Nkunda routinely deny the charges - and the general duly obliged again when I asked him the question. |
| "I cannot be a tool of Rwanda," he said. "I am Congolese and proud of it." | "I cannot be a tool of Rwanda," he said. "I am Congolese and proud of it." |
| Gen Nkunda's threat against Kinshasa is a typically ambitious one from a man who has rejected normal politics and gone for a military option. | Gen Nkunda's threat against Kinshasa is a typically ambitious one from a man who has rejected normal politics and gone for a military option. |
| The threat may remain just a threat, for now, aimed at raising the stakes ahead of any possible talks. | The threat may remain just a threat, for now, aimed at raising the stakes ahead of any possible talks. |
| Any new attempt at foreign intervention could be very risky | Any new attempt at foreign intervention could be very risky |
| But it certainly comes at an extremely tense time, when other African countries are threatening to intervene militarily on the side of the Congolese government. | But it certainly comes at an extremely tense time, when other African countries are threatening to intervene militarily on the side of the Congolese government. |
| During the 1990s at least half a dozen African states had armies in Congo backing their favoured local warlords. | During the 1990s at least half a dozen African states had armies in Congo backing their favoured local warlords. |
| That provoked a regional war which contributed to the deaths of five million people over 10 years - from fighting, famine, displacement and neglect. | That provoked a regional war which contributed to the deaths of five million people over 10 years - from fighting, famine, displacement and neglect. |
| Any new attempt at foreign intervention in the current conflict would be extremely risky. | Any new attempt at foreign intervention in the current conflict would be extremely risky. |
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