Rwanda's Kagame wants DRC insurgency handled urgently

ENTEBBE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on Sunday the problems in the Democratic Republic of the Congo need urgent attention.

Kagame, who is also the chairperson of the African Union, said despite the presence of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) for long, they have not done much to bring stability the country.

"DRC is a big concern to everyone starting with the neighbors, especially Uganda, where there so much spillover of refugees," said Kagame while addressing a press conference together with President Yoweri Museveni at Entebbe State House.

"The problems have been there for a long time and of course more problems are coming up. We are trying...to find a way of doing something to end the DRC problems," Kagame added.

"We are cautious about Congo and there is a sense of urgency in trying to end the situation. We are in discussions and we intend to work with the UN, to do more than what they have done for many years," he added.

MONUSCO has been in DRC since 1999 when it was formed by the United Nations Security Council, with headquarters in Kinshasa, the capital of DRC.

Over the past six months, hundreds of refugees have fled into Uganda, with pockets of ethnic wars that seem to have no end in sight. However, Allied Democratic Forces rebels have also recently revived their activities in the eastern DRC and have since become a security threat to the region.

Just in December last year, over 100 ADF combatants were killed by joint airstrikes of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Congolese Army. President Museveni said he agreed with Kagame on the need to handle the insurgency in the DRC, adding that the UN was not doing enough to end the hostilities.

Kagame arrived in Uganda on Sunday morning for a state visit. He was received by Museveni and the two held bilateral talks before entertaining questions from journalists. Enditem