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LequteMan
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Ugandan government has called on the Congolese army and M23 rebels to cease fire on Friday as peace talks progressed in Kampala to end a 20-month conflict.
Peace talks resumed in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Wednesday, 10 days after they collapsed over rebel demands for amnesty, triggering renewed hostilities.
An initial agreement could be reached as early as this weekend and fighting had ceased in the area near Rumangabo, about 50 km north of the regional capital Goma, but army vehicles and troops were present and appeared to be regrouping.
Roger Lumbala, a former member of parliament who is a senior member of the M23 negotiating team, said the rebels were simply waiting for an invitation from mediators to sign a deal.
A week-long army offensive has driven the rebels back to mountain bases and the rebels said they were ready for a peace deal, but government forces vowed to pursue their military advantage and crush the rebellion in Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east.
M23's military commander said the rebels were ready to fight on if necessary.
“If there is an agreement that is fine, but if they pursue us, we will fight,’’ M23's Gen. Sultani Makenga said.
M23, led by ethnic Tutsis, took up arms last year accusing Kinshasa of failing to honour a 2009 peace deal to end a previous uprising.
It has become the most serious rebellion in Congo's east since a war ended a decade ago.
UN experts and human rights groups have accused Rwanda of backing M23, something Kigali denies.
U.S. envoy Feingold cautioned that any peace deal would not end decades of instability unless the root causes, including ethnic tensions, are resolved.
(Reuters/NAN)
Peace talks resumed in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Wednesday, 10 days after they collapsed over rebel demands for amnesty, triggering renewed hostilities.
An initial agreement could be reached as early as this weekend and fighting had ceased in the area near Rumangabo, about 50 km north of the regional capital Goma, but army vehicles and troops were present and appeared to be regrouping.
Roger Lumbala, a former member of parliament who is a senior member of the M23 negotiating team, said the rebels were simply waiting for an invitation from mediators to sign a deal.
A week-long army offensive has driven the rebels back to mountain bases and the rebels said they were ready for a peace deal, but government forces vowed to pursue their military advantage and crush the rebellion in Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east.
M23's military commander said the rebels were ready to fight on if necessary.
“If there is an agreement that is fine, but if they pursue us, we will fight,’’ M23's Gen. Sultani Makenga said.
M23, led by ethnic Tutsis, took up arms last year accusing Kinshasa of failing to honour a 2009 peace deal to end a previous uprising.
It has become the most serious rebellion in Congo's east since a war ended a decade ago.
UN experts and human rights groups have accused Rwanda of backing M23, something Kigali denies.
U.S. envoy Feingold cautioned that any peace deal would not end decades of instability unless the root causes, including ethnic tensions, are resolved.
(Reuters/NAN)
