* Uganda invaded DRC twice in late 1990s and early 2000s
* Kampala to host conference on Congo conflict in August
KAMPALA, July 30 (Reuters) - Uganda has denied allegations
its army was providing support to the M23 rebels fighting
against the Kinshasa government in eastern Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), joining Rwanda which has also refuted similar
accusations.
Congo's President Joseph Kabila said on Saturday his
government had requested an explanation from Ugandan authorities
after persistent rumours that its soldiers were backing the M23
group.
Fighting between the Congolese government and the rebels has
displaced 470,000 people since April.
"General Aronda called on the Congolese government to
prevail over those who are passing on such idiotic rumours
against the government of Uganda and the UPDF," Uganda's
military chief, General Aronda Nyakairima, was quoted as saying
in a statement issued by Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF).
"... We cannot infiltrate the DRC and we will not do that."
Although Uganda's relations with DRC have markedly improved
in recent years, the two neighbours were not seeing eye to eye
in late 1990s and early 2000s after Uganda, alongside Rwanda,
invaded the giant nation twice.
Uganda justified its invasion by saying it wanted to root
out a rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has
bases in eastern DRC and is opposed to the Kampala government.
The M23 rebellion takes its name from a 2009 peace accord
the rebels say was violated by Kinshasa.
It has been swelled by hundreds of defectors from the
Congolese army who walked out into the bush in support of
fugitive Congolese General Bosco Ntaganda, wanted by the
International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.
The leaders of Congo and Rwanda agreed to allow a neutral
force to be deployed in Congo to defeat each other's rebels, but
the plan's details have not been announced yet.
Kampala is scheduled to host regional leaders between Aug.
5-8 to discuss the conflict after an interim report by the
U.N.'s panel of experts accused Rwanda of backing the rebels.
Kigali has strenuously denied this, and in turn accused the
international community of using Rwanda as a scapegoat for the
chaos in eastern Congo.
Donors including the United States, Britain, the Netherlands
and Germany have all suspended some of their financial aid to
Rwanda over the accusations that it is backing the rebels.
(Editing by James Macharia and Diana Abdallah)