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DR Congo army chief Gabriel Amisi suspended

23 November 2012 Last updated at 07:21 ET

DR Congo army chief Gabriel Amisi suspended

Gen Gabriel Amisi (file photo)Gen Gabriel Amisi allegedly used relatives to help smuggle weapons

DR Congo Seeks Democracy

The head of the army in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended pending an investigation into claims that he sold weapons to rebel groups.
A UN report accused Gen Gabriel Amisi of running a network supplying arms to poachers and rebel groups including the notorious Mai Mai Raia Mutomboki.
A government spokesman said other officers were also being investigated.
The suspension follows the seizure of the city of Goma by the separate M23 rebels on Tuesday.
They also seized another town, Sake. On Thursday, government spokesman Lambert Mende said the army had recaptured it but journalists in the town say it is now controlled by the M23 rebels.
Tens of thousands of people have fled the town, which is now nearly deserted, reports the AP news agency.
The rebels, who are widely believed to be backed by Rwanda and Uganda, have threatened to advance towards the capital Kinshasa unless President Joseph Kabila opens direct peace talks.
Uganda is hosting a summit later on Friday with the presidents of Rwanda and DR Congo. Some M23 leaders have also reportedly flown to Kampala.

Who are DR Congo's rebels?

Map
Foreign rebels:
  • FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda): Contains some remnants of perpetrators of 1994 genocide in Rwanda
  • FNL (National Liberation Forces): Burundian rebels, mainly in South Kivu
  • ADF (Allied Democratic Forces): Ugandan-led, based in Rwenzori mountains, North Kivu
Congolese rebels:
  • M23: Formed from soldiers who mutinied in April
  • FDC (Congo Defence Front): Fought FDLR rebels early this year
  • APCLS (Patriotic Alliance for Free and Sovereign Congo): Operates in Masisi area west of Goma
  • FRPI (Patriotic Resistance Forces of Ituri): Operates in Ituri Province near Uganda border
Mai Mai - term for armed community groups:
  • Mai Mai Raia Mutomboki: Has fought both FDLR and FARDC
  • Mai Mai Gedeon: Allied to separatists in southern Katanga province
  • Mai Mai Yakutumba: Operates on shores of Lake Tanganyika
  • Mai Mai Sheka - also known as NDC (Nduma Defence of Congo), led by Gen Sheka Ntaberi
Main source: UN Group of Experts, June 2012
The report, written for the UN by a group of independent experts, said Gen Amisi ran a network providing arms to criminal groups and rebels operating in eastern DR Congo, where numerous different armed groups still operate.
"Gen Gabriel Amisi oversees a network distributing hunting ammunition for poachers and armed groups, including Raia Mutomboki," the report says.
The M23 was not among the armed groups named in the report although Raia Mutomboki, one of several Mai Mai, or local community armed groups, is thought in some instances to have allied itself with the M23.
The UN report said Gen Amisi ordered 300 AK-47 assault rifles be given to another armed group operating in eastern DR Congo, known as Nyatura.
It says ammunition is being bought in neighbouring Republic of Congo and smuggled through Kinshasa to the east by a network of Gen Amisi's associates, including members of his family.
A separate UN investigation earlier this month said that Mai Mai Raia Mutomboki and Nyatura, along with the Rwandan FDLR rebel group, had been responsible for the deaths of more than 260 civilians in a wave of tit-for-tat ethnic massacres in remote parts of North Kivu province.
Meanwhile, M23 rebels have rejected a call by regional leaders to withdraw from the main eastern city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province.
About 500,000 people have been displaced by the rebellion since April.
A UN report has accused Rwanda and Uganda of backing the M23, saying the chain of command culminates with Rwandan Defence Minister James Kabarebe.
Both countries strongly deny the accusations.
The M23's gains have raised fears of renewed war in DR Congo, where some five million people died in a conflict from 1997-2003.
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution condemning the rebel seizure of Goma and calling for sanctions against M23 leaders.
The group was formed in April after a mutiny in the army. The rebels said they were not given army posts promised in a 2009 deal to end a previous uprising.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20456500

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