M23 Rebel Leader Calls for Cease-fire With Congo Government

Col. Sultani Makenga of M23 with stick in middle of photograph. The M23 are defectors from the Democratic Republic of Congo army. They have seized several towns in the East., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Congo’s M23 leader calls for cease-fire

Sun Nov 3, 2013 6:33PM GMT
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The leader of Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebels has called for cease-fire with government forces.

On Sunday, Bertrand Bisimwa, the president of the March 23 Movement (M23), demanded cease-fire in an attempt to permit peace talks with the Congolese government to continue.

Bisimwa said that his purpose was to “allow the continuation of the political process” with the organizers of the peace talks in neighboring Uganda.

This comes after Uganda called for an end to nearly 20 months of conflict between the Congolese army and M23 rebels.

On Friday, Ugandan Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda said, “The chief facilitator (Uganda's Defense Minister Chrispus Kiyonga) has requested the warring parties to stop the fight and from yesterday up until this morning there's no fighting.”

The Ugandan capital Kampala hosted a new round of peace talks on Wednesday, ten days after they broke over M23’s demands for amnesty.

Roger Lumbala, a senior M23 negotiator, said the rebels were ready to sign a peace deal if they receive an invitation from mediators.

However, the Congolese army vowed to work for the elimination of all rebel groups.

The M23 rebels and several other armed groups are active in the eastern Congo and are fighting for control of the country’s vast mineral resources, such as gold, the main tin ore cassiterite, and coltan (columbite-tantalite), which is used to make many electronic devices, including cell phones.

Since early May 2012, nearly three million people have fled their homes in the eastern Congo. About 2.5 million have resettled in Congo, but about 500,000 have crossed into neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.

Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on since 1998 and left over 5.5 million people dead.