Kisangani pull-out delayed

Kisangani has recently seen heavy fighting

United Nations officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo, say the withdrawal of Rwandan and Ugandan forces from Congo has been delayed.

UN sources in the devastated city of Kisangani, said Rwandan and Ugandan commanders had received instructions from their government to withdraw. But the move had been delayed by last minute discussion over the actual process.

The UN said the situation in the city however remained quiet.

Earlier on Friday the UN commander in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, Colonel Regis Barman, told Reuters news agency that forces from both sides had began leaving Kisangani.

Last week the former allies battled for six days leaving the city in ruins. At least 160 Congolese civilians died and more than 1,000 were injured.

It was the third time the two armies had clashed in the north-eastern Congolese city in the last year.

It is a process that should take one week to complete

Colonel Regis Barman

The two armies will pull back at least 150km to positions designated under a demilitarisation plan for the city drawn up in May.

Humanitarian organisations have been flying in medical and food supplies to help the inhabitants who have been without power and water since the latest round of fighting began.

Robust UN mandate

At the UN Security Council in New York, delegates are debating a French-drafted resolution that Uganda and Rwanda withdraw completely from DR Congo.

The Security Council is also being asked to send a 250 strong team of peacekeepers as an exceptional measure to the city to fill the void left by the withdrawal of Rwandan and Ugandan forces.

The secretary-general's representative in Congo, Kamel Morjane, said unarmed observers could not prevent a recurrence of the fighting and asked for troops with "a specific mandate" for Kisangani.

A deadline is expected to be set for the withdrawal of troops - which will be supervised by a 5,537-strong UN force of observers and troops to protect them.

Kofi Annan: Conditions have not yet been met

So far, just 228 members of the force have been deployed in Congo and in liaison offices in neighbouring countries.

Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that increasing the UN peacekeeping commitment to Congo would be impossible before the situation improved.

In a report, Mr Annan said none of the conditions have yet been met that would allow the UN to go ahead and carry out the rest of the its deployment.

PoW swap

Meanwhile the authorities in Rwanda have released a 46 foreigners they captured in fighting inside the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The move is part of the ceasefire agreement signed in Zambia last year.

The International Red Cross said the thirty-five Zimbabweans and eleven Namibians were to be flown to the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, to be exchanged for some 40 Rwandan prisoners-of-war

The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo includes forces from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Uganda and Rwanda.