Congo rebels stop UN observers from investigating claims

[dArKeR]

Congolese rebels are preventing UN observers from investigating allegations made by local residents that Rwanda has sent troops back into the country's restive east, a UN spokesman said Wednesday.

Congolese Rally for Democracy insurgents -- supported by Rwanda during a bloody five-year war that officially finished this year -- turned UN officials away from a military camp and prevented them from speaking with fighters in Ruwangabo in North Kivu province, Hamadoun Toure, UN spokesman in Congo, told reporters.

Rebels hampered UN military observers who were "verifying information relative to the presence of Rwandan troops on Congolese soil," he said.

Rebel authorities "need to let us check to lift all suspicion," Toure added.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/10/31/2003074048