Congo in peace talks with rebel group

— Congolese officials were in talks Sunday with representatives of M23, the rebel group that last week took control of the eastern Congo city of Goma, Ugandan officials said.

Ugandan Defense Minister Crispus Kiyonga said he was mediating discussions to help both sides reach a settlement that would end a violent rebellion that has sucked in Uganda and Rwanda, which both have been accused of backing the rebels.

M23 President Jean-Marie Runiga was leading the rebels in the talks, said Rene Abandi, M23’s head of external relations.

Abandi, who is based in the Ugandan capital Kampala, said M23 representatives met with Congolese President Joseph Kabila on Saturday in a tense, two-hour meeting that also was attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

“He tried to accuse us and we also tried to accuse him,” Abandi said of the meeting with Kabila on Saturday. “It was a meeting to have a common understanding of the principle of negotiation. [Kabila] said he’s ready to negotiate directly with us.”

But some Congolese officials in the capital Kinshasa have said there will be no talks with the rebels unless they leave Goma. A regional meeting of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region in Kampala - attended by both Kabila and Museveni - on Saturday called on the rebels to leave Goma and urged Kabila to listen to the “legitimate grievances” of M23.

Despite the regional leaders’ demands for the rebel forces to withdraw from Goma, M23 soldiers were visibly in control of the city Sunday. M23 also still held Sake, 15 miles west of Goma. The Congolese army attacked the town Saturday, but M23 retained control.

Runiga said that withdrawal from Goma was “under consideration” and, while M23 did not oppose the idea “in principle,” no decision had been taken yet, M23 spokesman Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama said. Runiga was still in Kampala on Sunday, and no official response to the demands from the regional summit was expected before his return to Congo, Kazarama said.

“We are waiting to hear from Runiga when he will be back from Kampala,” said Kazarama.

“Since May we have asked to meet with President Kabila,” said Amani Kabasha, M23’s deputy spokesman. “At least now there has been contact. The door is open for talks to find the durable peace that eastern Congo needs.”

Government troops remained in Minova, 15 miles south of Sake, after a failed attack on M23 last Thursday.Unruly Congo army soldiers had looted residences for the third night running, said a United Nations official in the town who insisted upon anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

U.N. peacekeepers patrolled Minova throughout the night to protect civilians from the rampaging government troops.

In Minova, Congo Gen. Francois Olenga, who was recently named head of the Congolese army, held meetings with area commanders. “The country is in danger. We cannot defend our country with traitors,” Olenga said.

Pickups packed with Congolese army soldiers armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades sped through Minova to regroup at the local soccer stadium. Army soldiers also were walking in the streets, looking for food. Some army soldiers were selling cigarettes on the side of the road.

An M23 dispatch sent Saturday night claimed that government regiments were moving into attack positions around rebel-held territory.

“Let them attack us!” said M23 spokesman Kazarama. “Do they have the strength? Absolutely not, we are in a strong position.” Information for this article was contributed by Melanie Gouby and Jerome Delay of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 11/26/2012

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