Experts from the two countries have been in Pweto at the border since last Friday with the aim of updating the border for the part of their border between the Moero and Tanganyika lakes, whose route is still controversial. The area is regularly the scene of clashes between the Congolese and Zambian armies.
as reported from Kinshasa, Kamanda wa Kamanda Muzembe
More than 200 km of boundaries are affected by this demarcation work. A border that was inherited from colonization and whose path continues to be debated.
For the experts, the task will not be easy. In 1989, a treaty was concluded between the two countries. But since 1996, just seven years after the signing, incidents between the armies of the two countries have recurred along this border.
“Zambian soldiers are currently on Congolese territory,” assured Joseph Mulunda of the Kalemie Civil Society in the DRC. According to him, they occupy the village of Kanianga, in the province of Tanganyika. Last year, the same soldiers had camped for several weeks in several other villages, including Kubanga, Kalubamba and Moliro, and claimed sovereignty over this part of Congolese territory. A provincial official accuses them of destroying and relocating several terminals.
On the Zambian side, a diplomat staying in Lubumbashi said: “If the work of the experts concludes that the villages we occupy belong to the Democratic Republic of Congo, I believe the Zambian army will withdraw.” Experts from both countries have brought satellite devices, including GPS, to reconstruct the border.
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