UN's Ban talks up Rwanda amid crisis over leak

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday he had agreed with Rwanda's president, who threatened to pull troops out of Sudan, on the importance of Rwanda continuing in peacekeeping operations.

But Ban stopped short of saying that President Paul Kagame had withdrawn a threat to pull Rwandan troops out of a joint U.N./African Union peace force in Sudan's Darfur region because of a controversy over alleged atrocities in neighboring Congo.

A draft U.N. report, leaked last month, said Rwandan soldiers may have committed genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1990s. Rwanda called the allegations "malicious" and "ridiculous" and threatened to withdraw its 3,500 troops from the 20,000-strong UNAMID force in Darfur.

Ban took the threat so seriously that he flew to the Rwandan capital Kigali earlier this week to talk to Kagame.

"President Kagame and I agreed that it is extremely important for Rwanda to continue its role in peacekeeping operations," the U.N. chief told reporters in New York.

Ban said he and the Rwandan president had discussed the U.N. report in great detail. "I listened very carefully to their concerns. I fully understand and appreciate the depth of their feelings on this matter," he said, going on to praise Rwanda's peacekeeping role.

Ban said he had encouraged Kagame to take up a U.N. invitation to Rwanda and other parties cited in the report to submit comments by the end of the month. The final version of the report, whose publication has been delayed until October 1, will include any such comments.

In a further hint that the matter was not yet resolved, Ban said he would hold further talks with Kagame when the Rwandan president visits New York later this month for the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders.