Leader of the rebel Congolese Liberation Front (CLF) Jean-Pierre Bemba agreed at the weekend to pull back his troops some 15 km from the frontline in Equateur province, Reuters reported. He said that under an agreement reached with the head of UN peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, his forces would pull back from the town of Basankusu when MONUC observers arrive there this week. “We explained our wish not to see civilian populations massacred once we have disengaged,” Reuters quoted him as telling journalists. Bemba’s agreement to pull back followed a deal with RCD-Goma last week allowing the deployment of Moroccan UN troops to the Kisangani on Friday. “There is the feeling that the points of dissension are all sorted today, the retreats will be affected and finally MONUC will be able to do what it wanted,” Guehenno said.
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