UN envoy meets DR Congo rebel leader amid fighting
Monday, 17 November 2008
JOMBA, Congo, Nov 16 (AP): The UN's special envoy on Congo met the Central African country's main rebel leader for the first time Sunday in a bid to end the crisis, as the UN reported more heavy fighting elsewhere in the east.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo flew by helicopter to the rebel-held town of Jomba, near the Ugandan border, and was greeted with a hug by gray-suited rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
Obasanjo inspected two rows of rebel fighters who stood in formation. He told a translator to tell them "they will be better as part of a national army than as rebels."
The two then entered a church compound for private talks.
Nkunda, a former general, quit the army in 2004 and launched a rebellion he claims is aimed at protecting ethnic Tutsis from Hutu militias who fled to Congo after Rwanda's 1994 genocide that left more than 500,000 mostly Tutsis dead. Critics say Tutsis in Congo are not being threatened and Nkunda is more interested in power and mineral wealth.
Ahead of the talks, clashes broke out in Ndeko, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of the regional capital, Goma, according Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich, a spokesman for the 17,000-strong peacekeeping mission.
Dietrich described the battle as "heavy" and said it began early in the morning. He said it was unclear who was fighting. Rebels, the army, and myriad pro-government militias are operating in the region.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo flew by helicopter to the rebel-held town of Jomba, near the Ugandan border, and was greeted with a hug by gray-suited rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
Obasanjo inspected two rows of rebel fighters who stood in formation. He told a translator to tell them "they will be better as part of a national army than as rebels."
The two then entered a church compound for private talks.
Nkunda, a former general, quit the army in 2004 and launched a rebellion he claims is aimed at protecting ethnic Tutsis from Hutu militias who fled to Congo after Rwanda's 1994 genocide that left more than 500,000 mostly Tutsis dead. Critics say Tutsis in Congo are not being threatened and Nkunda is more interested in power and mineral wealth.
Ahead of the talks, clashes broke out in Ndeko, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of the regional capital, Goma, according Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich, a spokesman for the 17,000-strong peacekeeping mission.
Dietrich described the battle as "heavy" and said it began early in the morning. He said it was unclear who was fighting. Rebels, the army, and myriad pro-government militias are operating in the region.