Rebel general Laurent Nkunda on Wednesday called for talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government after his troops secured some military victories that left them facing off with United Nations peacekeepers in the eastern Nord-Kivu province.
“We need to negotiate. We call for the opening of discussions with the government,” rebel spokesperson Rene Abandi said.
“This war has been imposed on us from the beginning,” he said. “We believe that the solution to the problem is political and not military, even though the situation on the ground is currently in our favour.”
Over the past two days, Nkunda’s fighters have taken back all the positions they held three months ago, when fighting started with the Congolese army forces (FARDC) in troubled eastern DRC.
Late on Tuesday, the rebels closed in on the town of Sake, about 30km north-west of the UN-defended provincial capital of Goma.
The UN mission to the DR Congo, Monuc, has reinforced its troops in the region and has vowed not to lose Sake to Nkunda’s forces if they move on the town.
Early on Wednesday, a Monuc spokesperson said the area around Sake was calm after some sporadic gun fire overnight.
“The situation is unchanged in Sake. Monuc is controlling the town,” said Major Prem Tiwari, the UN mission’s military spokesperson in Nord-Kivu province.
“We have reinforced our positions. We won’t let this town fall into the hands of Nkunda’s troops.”
Since the end of August the government’s 20 000-strong force in Nord-Kivu has been involved in skirmishes with about 4 000 troops loyal to Nkunda as it attempts to force the rebel militia to demobilise and hand in their arms.
Less than a week ago the government described its capture of the town of Mushake as a “great victory” in the fight against Nkunda, who claims to be defending Tutsis against Hutu rebels from neighbouring Rwanda.
The rebel general has rejected demands by Kinshasa and the UN to disarm, and by Washington to surrender and go into exile. President Joseph Kabila has ordered the army to disarm the rebel fighters by year’s end.
When asked if the rebels intend to attack Goma or other cities: Abandi said: “That will depend on the situation, whether they want to continue to pound us or not.”
“It is not the first time that we have won a military victory against FARDC, which is always in the end saved by Monuc. This situation cannot last forever,” he said. — AFP