Uganda on Thursday joined Rwanda in rubbishing a United Nations report accusing the countries of committing atrocities against civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report by the office of the UN's human rights chief, due to be released officially on Friday, was leaked in August, prompting Rwanda to threaten to withdraw its troops from UN peacekeeping missions, according to dpa. "It (the report) is rubbish and we do not take it kindly," a spokesman for the army, Lieutenant Felix Kulayigye, told the German Press Agency dpa. "First, the methodology of gathering the data to accuse us was poor. Second, the rules of justice follow that you hear from the other side before accusing it, but they have not heard from us," he added. Uganda's foreign minister, in a letter released to local media, condemned the report - which covers conflicts in DR Congo between 1993 and 2003 - and warned that Uganda's commitment to peacekeeping missions could also falter. Uganda is a major contributor to the African Union peacekeeping mission in war-torn Somalia. The report accuses the Ugandan army of committing war crimes while backing Congolese rebels who overthrew notorious dictator Mobuto Sese Seko in 1997. It says Uganda was complicit in the massacres and torture of civilians and the destruction of property. Rwanda is accused of committing genocide against Hutus who fled to DR Congo after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, during which militant Hutus slaughtered an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The accusations incensed Rwanda, who only backed off from their threat to pull out of peacekeeping missions after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Kigali. The release of the report was delayed for a month to allow "concerned states" to provide comments, which will be published on Friday alongside the report.
