Belgium, France Have Secret Plan' for DR Congo: Rebels

April 25, 2001 - 0:0
KIGALI A rebel chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has charged that France and Belgium have a "secret plan" to prop up the Kinshasa government and eliminate opposition leaders. "Coming from the Belgian and French secret services, this plan, code-named Malachite, will aim to support the current regime in place in Kinshasa and will plan the physical elimination of certain leaders of the Congolese armed and unarmed opposition," the rebel leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba, told AFP by telephone Monday. "The Malachite plan has been financed by secret funds made available by these two Western services," Bemba said, adding that he was informed of the alleged scheme by "sources close to these same services."