Congolese in Kinshasa angry over eastern conflict

By David Lewis

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Fighting in eastern Congo has provoked anger and frustration in the distant capital Kinshasa, where some pillory the army for failing to defeat the rebels and others call for a political compromise to end the conflict.

Tutsi rebels loyal to dissident General Laurent Nkunda have battled President Joseph Kabila's army since August, seizing swathes of eastern North Kivu province, stoking ethnic tensions and accusations that neighbor Rwanda is backing them.

Images of chaotic retreating government soldiers have also triggered calls for an end to corruption in the army, where pay and equipment are often misappropriated, officials say.

"The Congolese Army - a shameful image" read one headline in the newspaper Le Phare, outraged at TV images of government troops wearing wigs and complaining of fighting on empty stomachs.

Another newspaper in the capital Kinshasa, over 1,500 km (900 miles) west of North Kivu, denounced fleeing soldiers as "a collection of looters" after they sacked a town.

The violence has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, putting them at risk from hunger and disease, and rekindled ethnic animosities in the vast former Belgian colony.

Nkunda began his rebellion four years ago, rejecting peace deals that ended a 1998-2003 war. He has said he is defending Congo's Tutsi minority from attacks by Rwandan Hutu rebels who have operated in Congo since Rwanda's 1994 genocide, when Hutu militia slaughtered 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Despite Nkunda's vows to launch "national liberation," many Congolese see him as a stooge of Tutsi-led Rwanda, which has invaded Congo twice since 1994, ostensibly to hunt Hutu rebels. Congo has accused Rwanda of plundering its resources.

"These Tutsis, I hate them to death," said Jean, a jobless Kinshasa resident. "There is no such thing as a Congolese Tutsi. They are Rwandans and they have no respect for Congo."

Radio and TV chat shows have aired anti-Tutsi comment. One cartoon in a Kinshasa daily portrayed Nkunda and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, their tall, angular features heavily caricatured, dressed as cowboys marching around eastern Congo while suffering civilians languished in refugee camps.

RWANDA DENIES BACKING REBELS

Rwanda denies supporting Nkunda's rebellion.

Rights groups have accused Nkunda's rebels of war crimes, including killing civilians and recruiting child soldiers. The U.N. peacekeepers in Congo have also come in for criticism for failing to protect civilians.

Previous Nkunda offensives have sparked outrage and violence. In 2004, when Nkunda's men seized Bukavu in eastern South Kivu province, thousands rioted in Kinshasa.

Despite the popular fury against Rwanda, politicians have made conciliatory calls for efforts to mend strained relations and open talks with the rebels.