But he lamented the fact that EU troops had not yet secured entry points into Bunia, positions that he said his forces had given up in compliance with the ultimatum by the EU force.

"Absolutely... I believe it has already been done," Thomas Lubanga told AFP by telephone when asked if he would comply with the EU order.

On Saturday General Jean-Paul Thonier, the ground commander of the EU force, said all armed groups in Bunia had to remove visible weapons by Tuesday morning or risk having them confiscated.

Bunia, in DRC's troubled northeastern region of Ituri, has been the seen of vicious ethnic fighting that has killed hundreds of people in recent weeks.

The EU-backed force, led by French troops, was mandated the United Nations to secure Bunia and protect its population from further inter-ethnic clashes.

Lubanga, whose Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) currently control Bunia, said his forces had already withdrawn from several position in compliance with the EU ultimatum.

"But there is a problem with relieving strategic positions on the main roads leading into town, which could be used by outside forces to spread devastation," he said.

Lubanga was referring to armed factions who have already tried, once successfully, to oust the UPC from Bunia, prompting fierce clashes and widespread looting.

When AFP toured the town late Monday, there were hardly any gunmen to be seen.

In one outlying district to the northwest, many civilians were on the move with their possessions and expressed fears that the departure of UPC troops had left them exposed to attack.

Lubanga said it was "irresponsible" for EU troops not to have secured the strategic town entrances and that they should do so quickly.

While heavily armed French troops of the force have established positions, backed by armoured vehicles, at the airport and other key locations, they were not deployed at several entry points visited by AFP.

"The force will have to face up to its responsibilities," said Lubanga, adding that he had expressed his fears to the force's commanders, but lamented that a meeting with them planned for Monday had not taken place because these officers did not show up.

The rebel leader added that despite this complaint, "we will not go back on our undertakings."

Since 1999, inter-ethnic clashes in the Ituri region have claimed some 50,000 lives, displaced half a million people and disrupted agricultural production.

The EU force's mandate expires on September 1, after which responsibility for the security of Bunia will be handed over to Bangladeshi soldiers attached to separate UN mission in DRC.

WAR.WIRE