[An Nahar] Fighting between rival factions of the M23 rebel movement in the northeastern Rutshuru region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo or
Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
has left 10 dead, a hospital source in Rutshuru said Monday.
| Practice round. Next time they'll do it seriously. |
The fighting broke out because of differences within the ranks of the March 23 Movement (M23) over the stance the rebels should take regarding a peace deal that was signed Sunday by regional leaders in Addis Ababa, according to a Western military source. The goal of the accord was to bring peace to war-torn eastern DR Congo.
Supporters of General Sultani Makenga, the military chief of M23, reportedly battled those of Jean-Marie Runiga, the movement's political leader. Runiga had earlier announced plans to resume fighting against the DR Congo's army because peace talks in the Ugandan capital Kampala between the rebels and the Kinshasa government were getting nowhere.
Makenga was believed to oppose a resumption of conflict. Both men went to the Rwandan capital Kinshasa last week to hold talks, according to a Western source in Goma, the chief town in troubled North Kivu province. When they returned, Runiga was sent to his room in Bunagana, a town on the border with Uganda, the source added.
On Sunday, while 11 heads of state, including presidents Joseph Kabila of DR Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, were in the Æthiopian capital to sign the framework agreement in the presence of U.N. chief
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
, Runiga decided that he would return to Rutshuru.
When he arrived in the town, situated in the south of the zone controlled by M23, Runiga's soldiers started fighting those backing Makenga. Major population movements were reported as civilians fled, heading for Bunagana, or pouring in their hundreds into Uganda.
The Addis Ababa accord aims to encourage the reform of weak institutions in the vast DR Congo and calls for countries in the region to stop interfering in each other's affairs. The United Nations
...When talk is your weapon it's hard to make yourself heard over the artillery...
has accused Rwanda and Uganda of backing M23, which both nations strongly deny.