Congo govt expands talks
2008-12-08 07:48
Goma - Congo's government has invited about 20 armed groups to participate in talks with Tutsi rebels to end fighting in war-ravaged North Kivu province, the information minister said on Sunday.
Tutsi insurgent leader General Laurent Nkunda demanded
direct negotiations with President Joseph Kabila's government after launching a renewed offensive in late August that forced a quarter of a million people to flee violence in the east of
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Repeatedly routed by Nkunda's battle-hardened fighters, the government appeared to agree to that demand on Friday,
announcing it would send a delegation to Kenya to meet with the
rebels on December 8.
On Sunday Information Minister Lambert Mende said the
meeting in Nairobi would also include other armed groups which
signed up to a January peace deal.
"There are about 20 of them," he told Reuters. "We want this to be an inclusive process. We don't want to leave anyone out."
Kabila and Nkunda are not expected to attend the meetings in
Nairobi.
One-sided peace process
A spokesperson for Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) said the rebel delegation had not been informed of the decision to invite other groups, including
pro-government militias, to the talks.
Nkunda has rejected as one-sided the peace process resulting
from the January accord, known by its Swahili name 'Amani' meaning 'peace'.
"Our position is very clear. We will negotiate with the
government and no one else," the CNDP's Bertrand Bisimwa told Reuters from Nairobi.
"The government can negotiate with whomever it wants. But any attempt to impose Amani on us will fail," he said.
Nkunda declared a unilateral ceasefire in late October when
his troops were on the verge of overrunning the provincial
capital, Goma.
The ceasefire has been largely respected by both the rebels
and the army, leading to more than a month of relative calm in
North Kivu.
However, clashes continue between Nkunda's fighters and local Mai Mai militia and Rwandan Hutu rebels, who roam a
province rich in gold, diamonds, coltan and tin and often
support Kabila's weak and chaotic army.