Democratic Republic Of Congo: Newly integrated army brigade heading to the east

[XXPANTHAXX]

KINSHASA, 3 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - The latest brigade in the newly
integrated army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
completed training on Wednesday and is expected to deploy to
the east of the country, Defence Minister Adolphe Onusumba
said.

"The unit will provide security and help prepare the ground
for the elections," he told IRIN on Thursday.

The brigade comprises of soldiers from various fighting
forces that opposed each other during the country's civil
war. Their leaders are now members of the transitional
government.

Belgium and South African instructors trained the integrated
brigade at a camp in the southeastern town of Kamina, Katanga
Province.

The defence ministers of the DRC, Belgium and South Africa
attended the brigade's passing out parade on Wednesday,
handing out a certificate to each of the 3,240 soldiers.

On Thursday, the Belgium and South African defence ministers
signed an agreement with the DRC in the capital, Kinshasa, to
help train and integrate other army troops.

Senior officers have already been integrated into the DRC's
army command structure but many rank and file soldiers remain
in the same fighting groups that existed during the war.

Two other brigades have been officially integrated. They are
now based in Bunia, the capital of troubled northeastern
district of Ituri, conducting joint operations with UN troops.

The latest integrated brigade will be deployed to the
province of South Kivu where two Rwandan Hutu rebel groups -
the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda and the
Rasta - are allegedly committing atrocities against the local
population.

Onusumba said two more brigades would complete their training
within the next two weeks.