Analyse fra FN-bureauet IRIN når frem til, at den berygtede oprørsgruppe M23 og regeringen i kæmpelandet står langt fra hinanden og at fredsforhandlinger i nabolandet Ugandas hovedstad, Kampala, er havnet i uhjælpelig hårdknude
KAMPALA/GOMA, 18 July 2013 (IRIN): Fresh fighting between the rebel M23 and the army of the DR Congo in the eastern province of North Kivu could spell the end of efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the conflict, analysts say.
In what have been described as some of the deadliest clashes since the rebellion began in April 2012, FARDC (the DRC army) and M23 have been fighting since 14 July in areas around Mutaho, Kanyarucinya, Kibati and in the mountains near Ndosho, a few kilometres from Goma, the provincial capital.
An estimated 900.000 people are displaced (fordrevet) in North Kivu, more than half of them by the M23 rebellion; tens of thousands more have fled across the DR Congo’s borders with Rwanda and Uganda.
Humanitarians continue to flag the issue of civilian protection in and around Goma, where fighting over the past year has displaced more than 100.000.
IRIN has put together a briefing on recent developments in the talks and the conflict.
What is happening with the Kampala talks?
A new round of peace talks between the two sides in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, has stalled (gået i baglås), with Raymond Tshibanda, the Congolese foreign minister and head of the government delegation, and Apollinaire Malu Malu, his deputy, absent from the venue.
The talks, which kicked off in December 2012 under the auspices of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), first broke down in April: M23 representatives walked out following a decision by the UN to deploy an intervention brigade to neutralize armed groups in eastern DR Congo.
“The two sides are still extremely far apart in their negotiating positions and a compromise is difficult to envision without hefty intervention by diplomats. So fighting is almost inevitable, even if only to improve negotiating positions,” Jason Stearns said.
He is director of the Rift Valley Institute’s (RVI), Usalama Project, which conducts research on armed groups in eastern DR Congo.
“The Kampala talks are moribund (ligger på sottesengen)”, he noted, adding:
“I cannot envision a deal acceptable to the M23 that foreign diplomats and the Congolese government could sign off on; the M23 would have to disband (opløse sig) and reintegrate into the national army, which its leaders will find difficult to stomach, as they do not trust the government.”
Each side accuses the other of not being sufficiently committed to reaching a diplomatic settlement to the conflict.
“It depends on whether M23 is ready to accept on what has been decided in Addis Ababa and [with] UN for them to disarm. If they accept, we are ready to finalize the Kampala process,” the Congolese government spokesperson Lambert Mende Omalanga told IRIN.
On 24 February, 11 African countries signed a Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DR Congo and the Region, aimed at, among other things, improving security and consolidating the state’s authority in eastern DR Congo.
What are the accusations being traded?
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http://www.irinnews.org/report/98438/briefing-north-kivu-sees-fresh-clashes-as-peace-talks-stall-in-kampala
