Congo - Rebels Demand Government Ceasefire Before Talks
https://nigeriaafrica1.blogspot.com/2013/01/congo-rebels-demand-government.html
Congolese rebels will attend peace talks with the government this week but will walk away if Kinshasa does not sign a ceasefire, the rebel political chief said on Thursday.
Efforts last month to end the nine-month rebellion in Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) volatile east failed when both sides talked war instead of an end to the crisis.
Foreign powers believe the rebels are backed by neighbouring Rwanda and fear the conflict could spread and spark another regional war.
The rebel March 23 Movement (M23), named after a 2009 peace deal for eastern Congo that fell apart, questions the commitment of President Joseph Kabila's government to the peace process.
Jean-Marie Runiga, head of the rebel political wing, said government troops were reinforcing positions in the east and warned that M23 would defend itself against any offensive.
The talks are due to take place on Friday in Kampala, the capital of regional mediator Uganda.
"If Kinshasa continues to refuse to sign a ceasefire, M23 is going to ask its delegation to return to DRC. We will wait and when they say 'we're ready to sign (a ceasefire) we'll go back'," Runiga told reporters in Bunagana, a border town under rebel control.
Nestled in lush green hills less than a kilometre from the Ugandan frontier, Bunagana fell into rebel hands last July after government soldiers fled.
Negotiations began last month after regional leaders secured a rebel pull-out from the city of Goma in Congo's eastern North Kivu province.
The talks quickly stalled in a climate of deep mistrust. Uganda, alongside Rwanda, is accused by a group of U.N. experts of supporting the rebel campaign.
But the frontlines have been quiet since the rebels left Goma.
Foreign powers believe the rebels are backed by neighbouring Rwanda and fear the conflict could spread and spark another regional war.
The rebel March 23 Movement (M23), named after a 2009 peace deal for eastern Congo that fell apart, questions the commitment of President Joseph Kabila's government to the peace process.
Jean-Marie Runiga, head of the rebel political wing, said government troops were reinforcing positions in the east and warned that M23 would defend itself against any offensive.
The talks are due to take place on Friday in Kampala, the capital of regional mediator Uganda.
"If Kinshasa continues to refuse to sign a ceasefire, M23 is going to ask its delegation to return to DRC. We will wait and when they say 'we're ready to sign (a ceasefire) we'll go back'," Runiga told reporters in Bunagana, a border town under rebel control.
Nestled in lush green hills less than a kilometre from the Ugandan frontier, Bunagana fell into rebel hands last July after government soldiers fled.
Negotiations began last month after regional leaders secured a rebel pull-out from the city of Goma in Congo's eastern North Kivu province.
The talks quickly stalled in a climate of deep mistrust. Uganda, alongside Rwanda, is accused by a group of U.N. experts of supporting the rebel campaign.
But the frontlines have been quiet since the rebels left Goma.
