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DR Congo signs deal to extend truce with Nkunda rebels
Nairobi (AFP) Dec 21, 2008 The Democratic Republic of Congo government agreed to extend a ceasefire with rebels of general Laurent Nkunda, but the insurgents refused to ink the deal, the UN said Sunday. The head of the government delegation to peace talks held in the Kenyan capital signed the declaration Saturday aimed at promoting dialogue and creating "climate of confidence between the two parties." But the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) refused to sign the deal, saying government forces had occupied areas they had withdrawn from in the country's volatile east after their December 6 unilateral truce. "The mediators caused these allegations to be investigated through independent sources. It has been reported back to the mediators that these allegations are without foundation," mediators said in a statement. But "the CNDP refused to sign a joint declaration of cessation of hostilities with the government of the DRC," it added. The declaration signed by the government delegation chief Raymond Tshibanda is to extend a November 18 agreement on a cessation of hostilities. The two sides opened peace talks in Nairobi on December 8 and on Saturday adopted two of three procedural documents to guide future substantive talks. The third document, which was withdrawn, is a demand by the rebels for the inclusion of the head of parliament and senate as well as government and opposition representatives as facilitators in the talks. But the government insists that mediatiors should be free to include other actors and after consultations with both sides. "The two positions have proven irreconcilable for the present," the statement said. Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo is the UN envoy to the crisis while his former Tanzanian counterpart Benjamin Mkapa represents the African Union. Fighting since August 28 between government troops and Nkunda's forces has displaced more than 250,000 people in eastern Nord-Kivu province. The CNDP has inflicted heavy losses on the Congolese army, taking control of much of the province, including the outskirts of the regional capital Goma. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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