08 11 13 AP: Official: M23 chief, rebels surrender to Uganda

The move
raised hopes the rebels might sign a peace settlement after 19 months of a
brutal insurgency that displaced thousands of people in eastern Congo's North Kivu
province.

M23
commander Gen. Sultani Makenga and his fighters were being held by the Ugandan
military in Mgahinga, a forested area near the Congolese border. The rebels had
been disarmed and were being registered by Ugandan officials, said the
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
give this information.

Makenga,
the M23 commander, is the subject of U.N. sanctions. The United States
also has imposed a travel and asset ban on him for his alleged use of child
soldiers in his rebellion.

"Makenga
should be arrested and immediately brought before the courts," North Kivu
Gov. Julien Paluku told The Associated Press. "He should be made to answer
for his actions in eastern Congo."

The
senior Ugandan official who spoke to The Associated Press about Makenga's
surrender said the rebel leader and his fighters would be under Ugandan
protection until regional governments, including those of Rwanda and Congo, agree on how to deal with
"negative forces" in the region.

This week
the M23 rebels lost control of all the territory they once held following an
intensified offensive by Congolese troops who are backed by United Nations
forces. After their last major stronghold fell last week, the rebels appeared
to flee from the border town of Bunagana
to the surrounding hills and forests. Earlier this week the rebels' civilian
leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, announced the rebellion was over, saying he wanted to
work with Congo's government
toward finding a political solution to violence in eastern Congo.

A group
of international envoys to Africa's Great Lakes region, including U.S. envoy
Russ Feingold, has been urging a political solution to the eastern Congo's
crisis and urging both parties to reach a negotiated peace accord. Under the
banner of a regional bloc, Uganda
has been hosting peace talks between the rebels and Congo's government. Although those
talks have repeatedly stalled since December, there were signs a final accord
may now be signed after Congolese troops militarily defeated the rebels.

Feingold
said Wednesday that an agreement between M23 and Congo's government "has been
worked out in great detail" and could be signed by both parties within
days. But the deal offers no amnesty for rebels who face serious criminal
charges, he said.

"That
is not happening in this case if this agreement goes through the way I believe
it will go through, and certainly, the international community and the United States
would not support such an agreement," Feingold said, talking about blanket
amnesty for rebels. "I also believe that the Congolese government would
never sign such an agreement this time."

M23
launched its rebellion in April 2012, becoming the latest reincarnation of a
Tutsi rebel group dissatisfied with the Congolese government. M23 was created
after officers from the Congolese army defected in April and May, demanding
better pay, armaments and amnesty from war crimes. The rebels accused Congo's
government of failing to honor all the terms of a peace deal signed in March
2009 with M23's precursor group, the CNDP.

A report
by U.N. experts has said neighboring Rwanda, whose president is also
Tutsi, provided weapons, recruits and training to M23 rebels. That report also
said some in Uganda's
military supported the rebels. Both Uganda
and Rwanda
deny the allegations.

M23 had
been substantially weakened in the past year by internal divisions and waning
Rwandan support. The Congolese military capitalized on these rebel setbacks by
pushing ahead with new offensives beginning in August that were supported by a
brigade of U.N. forces with a mandate to attack the rebels.