Kigali - Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo prevented peace monitors from landing in a strategic city yesterday after demanding that the UN mission condemn alleged atrocities by government forces.
Moroccan troops had been scheduled to land in the north-eastern city of Kisangani to monitor a peace plan agreed by fighters in the war that has split Africa's third largest country since 1998 and drawn in six foreign armies.
But the main rebel movement, the Rwandan-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy, said they would not agree to the landing until the UN Mission in Congo publicly denounced alleged ceasefire violations by government troops.