DRC

Nkunda agrees to three-party ceasefire monitoring

Article published on the 2008-11-16 Latest update 2008-11-16 16:51 TU

Laurent Nkunda at the meeting
(Photo: Reuters)

Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has agreed to a three-party committee to monitor a ceasefire in the Congolese province of North Kivu, according to former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who met the breakaway general in the conflict-hit area. Obasanjo, who is acting on behalf of UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, said that Nkunda wanted DRC government officials on the committee but opposed the official participation of the UN force in the country.

Nkunda said that he has agreed to respect the ceasefire, which he himself declared but has since been broken by both sides, and open a humanitarian corridor but, as the talks with Obasanjo went ahead, fresh fighting broke out.

"I know now what he wants,' Obasanjo said after the talks. "I know that a ceasefire is like dancing the tango; it cannot be done by one only."

He said that Nkunda "reaffirms that he believes in a ceasefire being implemented and respected by both sides" but that a meeting with DRC President Joseph Kabila is not yet on the cards.

"I expect exploratory discussions, formal discussions," he said.

Nkunda apparently wants the DRC government to take responsibility for Hutu militias with which he has clashed, claiming that they are its allies.

Obasanjo said that he proposed that representatives of UN forces in DRC, Monuc, sit on the proposed committee to monitor the ceasefire but that was not acceptable to Nkunda, although he might accept a member of the force in an individual capacity.

"Today is a great day for us because we were losing many men and now we have a message of peace," Nkunda said after the meeting, the first of its kind since the latest outbreak of violence."We should work with this mission."