Uganda, Rwanda troops quit Congo

Uganda and Rwanda have begun withdrawing troops from front-line positions in the Democratic Republic of Congo where they've been fighting the government for nearly three years.

The first of fifteen hundred Ugandan soldiers being disengaged have been flown home from northern Congo.

And about two thousand Rwandan troops were being moved two hundred kilometres from their base near the Zambian border.

They are the first withdrawals since the Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, succeeded his assassinated father, Laurent Kabila in January.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council approved a plan for the withdrawal of the warring sides in Congo that would allow the eventual deployment of UN-supported peace-keepers. The three countries supporting President Kabila, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia are also committed to withdrawing their forces.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service