DR Congo, M23 Talks Adjourned To January
The people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo will have to wait until January to know the security fate of their region.
This is after peace talks between representatives of the DRC government and M23 in Kampala were deferred to January 4th.
In a statement issued on Friday by the office of the facilitator of the dialogue, the talks were being pushed to January due to the constraints that may arise as a result of the absence of support staff who will be on holiday over this festive season.
The statement noted that the process cannot go on without their availability and in consultation with both sides; the talks were adjourned to January.
Uganda’s defence Minister Dr Crispus Kiyonga is the facilitator of the talks that have been on-going for the last two weeks.
On 24th November, heads of state of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region meeting in Uganda’s capital Kampala resolved that the Kinshasa government of Joseph Kabila should hold a dialogue with the M23 rebels to find a lasting solution to the insecurity in the east of the country.
This happened in the wake of renewed clashes between the rebels and government forces in eastern DRC that culminated in the former seizing the eastern city of Goma.
Although Dr Kiyonga said progress had been made, declaring a cease fire is still a bone of contention between the two sides.
To show its commitment to finding peace, the rebels have demanded that the government signs an official agreement if the talks are to have any chance of going ahead.