16 09 13 AFP: Regional powers fear Rwandan invasion of DR Congo

A
statement from the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
regional body said it was concerned "at the deployment of
Rwandan troops along the common border" and "expressed the
hope that Rwanda is not contemplating to invade".

Issued
from a summit in Namibia attended by Congolese President Joseph
Kabila, the statement called on the country's neighbours to
"contribute to peace, security and stability of the DRC."

Congolese
troops backed by a special United Nations
force launched a fresh assault against M23
rebels late last month in DR Congo's north east.

The
SADC also praised DR Congo's government troops and the UN brigade for
"continuing to exert military pressure on M23
and other negative forces in eastern DRC".

Tanzania,
Malawi and South Africa have all provided troops to the intervention
brigade, a 3,000-strong contingent with an unprecedented offensive
mandate to fight entrenched armed movements, marking a strategic
change of tack from traditionally peaceful UN
missions.

All
three countries were represented at the summit.

The
UN accuses Rwanda of backing the M23,
a charge the country has adamantly denied.

The
rebels in turn have accused the Congolese army of joining forces
against them with the Hutu FDLR, or Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda, which is also active in eastern DR Congo where
its members fled in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Talks
between the rebels and Kinshasa restarted Tuesday after stalling in
May, following an ultimatum from regional leaders after a recent
upsurge in fighting.

The
M23 was founded
by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army
under a 2009 peace deal.

Complaining
the deal was never fully implemented, they mutinied in April 2012,
turning their guns on their former comrades and launching the latest
rebellion to ravage DR Congo's mineral-rich and conflict-prone east.