13 11 13 AFP: No DR Congo, M23 rebel peace deal but talks to continue

The
last-minute failure to sign a deal on Monday was a blow to international
efforts to stabilise the African nation's conflict-prone east.

"Both
parties are still here in Uganda…
the talks have not been officially called off," Ugandan government
spokesman Ofwono Opondo told reporters.

Negotiations
fell through after Kinshasa
demanded changes to the agreement, but despite the failure to sign, DR Congo
Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda has insisted the government is committed to
peace.

Uganda, which is hosting and mediating the
lONG running talks, said it was expecting new rounds of talks but gave no set
date.

"As
and when the DRC delegation will be ready, the facilitator will communicate a
new date," Opondo said.

The M23
rebels, one of the many armed groups operating in the mineral-rich but
impoverished east of the DR Congo, have been routed by the national army backed
by a 3,000-strONG special UN intervention brigade.

The UN
had accused both Rwanda and Uganda of
backing the M23, a charge both countries have repeatedly denied.

With
support from Rwanda
notably whittled away to nothing in the face of concerted international
pressure, the M23 announced last week that their 18-month insurgency was over.

The M23
said in a statement that the government had wanted to revise the text that
already had been agreed by the two parties, calling the demand
"unacceptable", as the agreement had been settled earlier this month
and "other stages preceeding the signature had been accomplished".

However,
since that stage of the talks, the rebels had suffered a series of crushing
military defeats, changing the situation on the ground and leaving government
troops with the upper hand.

'Negotiations
difficult'

The lack
of a deal on Monday was a disappointment to many, who had hoped it would be a
key step towards building peace in the troubled region.

UN
special envoy to the Great Lakes Mary Robinson, UN Secretary-General's Special
Representative in the DRC Martin Kobler, and US special envoy Russ Feingold
voiced regret that the signing had not happened, but noted that the parties
involved "expressed no differences on substantive points within the draft
document".

The joint
statement, also signed by African Union and EU officials, urged all involved to
resolve their differences and "remain committed to a peaceful settlement
of the conflict."

The M23,
a mainly ethnic Tutsi force of mutineers from the Congolese army, have no
military leverage left and little room for manoeuvre.

A key
outstanding issue is the fate of about 1,500 M23 fighters who have crossed into
Uganda and whom Kampala has refused to hand over to the DR Congo. Around 100
more injured rebels have crossed into Rwanda.

Kinshasa had said earlier the rebels would
be dealt with "case by case". Many rank-and-file fighters were
expected to be given the option to return to the Congolese army.

More
complicated is the fate of some 100 M23 commanders. These include M23 leader
Sultani Makenga, accused of participating in several massacres, mutilations,
abductions and carrying out sexual violence, sometimes against children.

"Any
solution must allow the pursuit of accountability for those who have committed
war crimes, crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, including those
involving sexual violence and recruitment of child soldiers," the joint
statement by Robinson, Kobler and Feingold added.

Delegations
from both Kinshasa's government and the rebels
turned up Monday to Uganda's
State House in Entebbe, a town close to Kampala on the shores of Lake
Victoria, but the two sides never met, only eyeing each other
through a window, Opondo said.

"Negotiating
with the Congolese is difficult generally, and negotiating for a peace
agreement is even more difficult," he added.

Even if a
deal is signed, stabilising eastern DR Congo will not be easy, with multiple
other rebels groups still operating. Previous deals have foundered because they
were not implemented or did not address underlying problems. 

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