The signing of a document that was supposed to mark the end of peace talks between DR Congo’s government and the defeated M23 rebels was postponed indefinitely on Monday in Entebbe, Uganda, over a disagreement on its wording and title.
The Congolese government says it will not sign a “peace deal” with the M23 rebels now that they have been defeated. Information Minister and government spokesman Lambert Mende told reporters during a news conference in Kinshasa on Tuesday that there will only be a “statement.”
DR Congo’s army has recaptured Bunagana, the last major town that was still occupied by the M23 rebels in North Kivu province. The victory marks a turning point for eastern Congo, which has been plagued by unrest for more than a decade.
The M23 rebels say they want to “liberate” DR Congo. They say they will take their fight thousands of miles westward to the capital Kinshasa if necessary. The M23 want to overthrow Kabila? Nonsense. It could be argued that Rwanda and Uganda have never had, and will likely never have, a better friend in power in Kinshasa than Mr. Kabila.
The military operation codenamed “Umbrella” and other joint special operations against Ugandan LRA rebels have significantly reduced their freedom of action and their maneuvering space in Orientale Province, the military spokesman for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Lt-Colonel Mamadou Gaye, said on Wednesday in Kinshasa during a press briefing.
The commander in chief of the Ugandan rebel ADF/NALU, colonel Katodo, was killed by the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) during operation Ruwenzori in North Kivu Province, Information Minister and government spokesman Lambert Mende said on Tuesday at a press conference in Kinshasa.
In an interview on Top Congo FM on Thursday, Government spokesman Lambert Mende said, in response to the latest Human Rights Watch report on the Democratic Republic of Congo, that the NGO risks loosing all its credibility by issuing sensational reports on the situation in the DRC to make headlines.