DRC

Ceasefire founders amid fresh clashes

Article published on the 2008-11-17 Latest update 2008-11-18 06:48 TU

Government soldiers in North Kivu.
(Photo : AFP)

At least one UN peacekeeper was wounded as rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) broke their own unilateral ceasefire Sunday and advanced to the town of Rwindi.

Even as rebel commander Laurent Nkunda was meeting former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon earlier this month as a peace envoy for Congo, his National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) clashed with government forces, and occupied additional territory in North Kivu province.

Rebel spokesperson Bertrand Bisimwa denied that the CNDP broke its 29 October ceasefire, and explained that any fighting was the result of government attacks.

While Sunday’s fighting scuttled any hopes of finding a quick solution to the latest outbreak of violence, there were two announcements that reflected modest progress.

Following his meeting with Obasanjo - the first time he had sat down with a foreign emissary - Nkunda agreed to allow third-party observers into the conflict zone to oversee the ceasefire. Kinshasa, for its part, agreed to permit Rwandan forces into the eastern reaches of the country to track down Hutu militias.

On Monday, a military court in Goma sentenced four government soldiers to life in prison for their role in a rampage of civilian areas last week.

These announcements, however, are far from a lasting solution, said Patrick Smith, editor of Africa Confidential, an African newsletter in Paris.

“There cannot be an effective ceasefire until there is a political process,” Smith told RFI. “Any sort of ceasefire that is negotiated in the short term is just simply going to be a device through which you can then get the main players to talk to each other".

 

But as things stand on the ground, the experts agree, Smith says, that the CNDP holds the balance of power. “Nkunda’s forces will outgun and outperform the government troops and their local allies on every level,” he says.