Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Congo agrees to peace talks with eastern rebels
Fri Dec 5, 2008 12:49pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Joe Bavier
GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - Congo's government will meet eastern Tutsi rebels in Kenya on Monday for their first direct talks to formalize a ceasefire and discuss a peace process after weeks of fighting, the foreign minister said on Friday.
Alexis Thambwe Mwamba made the announcement after a meeting with his Rwandan counterpart Rosemary Museminali which also agreed on a joint plan of operations to disband Rwandan Hutu rebels based in Democratic Republic of Congo's lawless east.
Tutsi insurgent leader General Laurent Nkunda has been demanding direct talks with President Joseph Kabila's government as a condition for ending his revolt in North Kivu province, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled fighting.
The announcement of talks followed weeks of diplomacy led by Olusegun Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president and now a U.N. special envoy, and former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa.
"A meeting between representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo and from the CNDP, under the auspices of United Nations and African Union facilitators, will take place on December 8, 2008 at Nairobi, Kenya to formalize the ceasefire and discuss a peace plan for eastern Congo," Mwamba said.
Nkunda has justified his rebellion by saying his fighters were battling to protect fellow Tutsis from the Hutu rebels, known as the FDLR, some of whom took part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Since late August, Nkunda's battle-hardened guerrilla force has routed the government army and seized swathes of North Kivu in a major embarrassment for Kabila, who won 2006 elections intended to end decades of chaos, war and mismanagement.
Congo's government had resisted direct talks with Nkunda's National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) rebels, insisting instead that they return to a wider peace pact signed in January with several armed groups.
But the military defeats have left it with few options.
Few details were given about the planned talks but Western diplomats said that they would be conducted by delegations and not Kabila and Nkunda personally.
"It is a major step -- that's why I am optimistic," Roland van de Geer, the European Union's special envoy for the Great Lakes, said after the announcement.
Jean-Michel Kambasu Ngeve, the No. 2 in Nkunda's rebel CNDP, which wants to discuss Congo's security and the role of ethnic minorities in government, called it "a step toward peace."
"TIRED OF WAR"
"This is a good thing. We are tired of this war. Our wish is for this to end," said Benoit Kawate, a plumber in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Nkunda declared a ceasefire after marching to the gates of Goma in late October. But his men continue to battle various pro-government militias roaming the east, which is rich in gold, diamonds, coltan and tin. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Passengers rescued from Antarctic cruise ship
Also on Reuters
Jobless numbers spell hard times for unemployed
Tips are falling victim to financial crisis
Blog: Blog: Ask Adam Sandler a "Bedtime Stories" question
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Canadian PM wins suspension of Parliament | Video
Destructive Koobface virus turns up on Facebook
U.S. military sets high-stakes missile-shield test
"Koobface" virus turns up on Facebook
U.S. job losses worst since 1974 as downturn deepens
Minn. Senate recount nears end: Coleman leads
Auto aid still uncertain, job losses feared | Video
Climate history may explain empires' fall
Town meetings start U.S. health reform effort | Video
Obama laying the groundwork for U.S. health reform
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Head of Russian Orthodox church dies
Iraq's price of security
Driving for dollars
Rockefeller Center Tree lighting
Parliament suspended in Canada
Cruise ship stranded in Antarctica
Fate of Detroit bailout uncertain
Harper addresses nation
Bush's last White House tree
Honda exits F1
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Congo
Death all around
Witness
Award winning Reuters photographer Finbarr O'Reilly recounts the horrors of living on the front line of the conflict in eastern Congo. Blog
Slideshow: Images from Congo
Video: The long wait for refugees
Blog: Caught in Chad rebel offensive
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.