07 10 12 AFP: DR Congo's M23 rebels cannot be defeated militarily: UN

"Only
a political solution is a way out of this situation," Alexis
Lamek, France's deputy permanent representative to the United
Nations, told the press.

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.

The
UN and various rights groups have accused the M23 of
atrocities including rape and murder in a conflict that has caused
tens of thousands of refugees to flee.

The
UN also accuses Rwanda and Uganda of backing the M23,
a charge both countries deny.

"There
is no military solution" to the crisis, said Morocco's UN
representative Mohammed Loulichki, but he added that there was
"undeniably a dynamic for peace in DRC and the region".

"We
must not miss this opportunity."

The
two diplomats were referring to talks between the DR Congo government
and the rebels in the Ugandan capital Kampala that resumed last month
but then stalled.

One
of the negotiators for the Congolese government, Francois Muamba,
told AFP on Wednesday that the talks got bogged down over the issue
of an amnesty for rebels suspected of war crimes, crimes against
humanity or serious human rights abuses and their reintegration in
the national army.

The
political future of M23 leaders
was also controversial, he said.

Congolese
authorities have published a list with the names of about 70 rebels,
including key M23 leaders,
who would not be granted an amnesty or incorporated into the army if
a peace deal is signed.

"There
are questions where it is difficult to give in," said Lamek.

The
Security Council delegates met Congolese President Joseph Kabila and
members of his government on Saturday.

They
will travel to Rwanda late Sunday and to Uganda on Monday.