Congo, M23 sign peace deal in Kenya
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December 12, 2013 (NAIROBI) - The Congolese government and the M23
rebel group on Thursday signed a peace agreement in the Kenyan capital
Nairobi.
JPEG - 30.2 kb
Congolese M23 rebels fighters travel on trucks in Rushuru, Democratic
Republic of Congo August 3, 2013 as deadline set by UN peacekeepers
for rebels in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to lay
down their weapons passed on Thursday, with the fighters facing force
if they fail to disarm. Credit: Reuters/James Akena
"Today [Thursday] the Congolese government and the M23 respectively
have signed declarations reflecting the consensus reached during the
Kampala Dialogue on steps necessary to end the armed activities of the
M23," said a joint communiqué by the International Conference on the
Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the South African Development
Cooperation (SADC).
The statement was signed by the Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni who
is also the current chair of ICGLR and Malawian president Joyce Banda
and chair of SADC.
In October the M23 rebels announced it had abandoned its nearly
two-year-old rebellion against the government of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) after a resounding defeat by the Congolese
army with assistance from a United Nations intervention force.
Subsequent talks in the Ugandan capital Kampala failed after the DRC
government disagreed on amnesty for the rebels and their integration
into the Congolese national army.
After the collapse of the talks, regional leaders asked the DRC
government to give a hearing to M23’s grievances.
The Congolese government and the M23 have now agreed on the key
sticking points; amnesty for the former rebels for acts of aggression
and war; release of the M23 rebels detained by the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC); demobilisation of former M23 combatants, among
others.
The signing of the agreement could bring peace in volatile eastern
region of DRC, where thousands of people have been displaced from
their homes, and to neighbouring countries like Uganda and Rwanda.
(ST)
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