Leaders Want Stronger UN Mandate in Congo

(PANA)--African leaders gathered on Friday to tackle the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have called for an immediate ceasefire in the country and recommended a stronger mandate for the UN troops there.

African Union Chairman Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania said the summit of the leaders of the Great Lakes region agreed on an immediate ceasefire by all the armed men and militia in North Kivu and resolved to send a team of senior diplomats there. The Summit, convened within the framework of the conference of the Great Lakes region, spearheaded by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the African Union (AU) and some 14 African countries, agreed to fast-track intra-Congo dialogue.

The leaders resolved to take immediate action against rebels ravaging the region and warned that Africa would not stand by to witness incessant and destructive acts of violence by any armed groups against the innocent people of the DR Congo. The leaders urged the UN Security Council to strengthen the mandate of the UN peacekeeping forces there and provide adequate resources to address the volatile situation.

The 14 states, which form the Great Lakes Peace conference, also resolved to send peacekeeping forces to the Kivu province, where fierce fighting has left at least 100 people dead since August this year, if necessary, to stop an escalation of the fighting. Leaders from the Eastern, Central and Southern Africa states, among them Burundi an President Pierre Nkurunziza, Congo-Brazzaville’s Sassou Nguesso, Joseph Kabila of the DR Congo, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Salva Kiir, the Sudanese Vice-President, attended the summit.

The Nairobi summit was held against the backdrop of massive killings in the North Kivu region of DR Congo. The leaders sought to galvanise peace in the region and specifically set priority on having DR Congo’s President Kabila and President Kagame to dialogue on the crisis. A quarter of a million people have been forced to flee their homes since late August 2008 as a result of intense fighting between the forces of rebel general Laurent Nkunda and Congolese army soldiers and their allied militia, Human Rights Watch (HRW), said.

Aid agencies say people have dispersed over a vast, inhospitable area without access to shelter, water, food, and medicines. The fighting has severely hampered the ability of aid agencies to reach those in need. With renewed fighting in the last two days, many more have been forced to run again in search of safety despite the regional efforts to end the conflict there.

The resolutions came amid pressure from the civil society in the region, calling for the beefing up of the UN forces on the ground to prevent further bloodshed. At least 100 civilians have been killed and more than 200 wounded since combat resumed in late August. Relief agencies say many of those killed were trapped in combat zones, unable to flee, while others were deliberately killed by combatants.

Child protection agencies report that 37 children were recruited into military service recently, bringing the number to 150 since heavy fighting resumed in August, relief agencies say. ‘With UN troops stretched thin and occupied on multiple fronts, increased military capacity is urgently required to keep the people of eastern Congo safe,’ HRW said.

President Kikwete said the summit agreed on key issues, among them, that the new mediator and UN Special Envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, should immediately establish negotiations with rebel leader Nkunda. ‘Dealing with Laurent Nkunda is the top priority. He (Obasanjo) would go down on the ground and talk to them,’ President Kikwete said. The summit also established a mechanism that would involve all leaders of the region with President Kibaki as the Chairman to immediately begin work on resolving the crisis.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the consultative meeting, the regional leaders also picked a team of facilitators comprising Obasanjo and former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa. A humanitarian corridor would be established throughout the North Kivu area to ensure the immediate address of the humanitarian crisis and tragedy, the leaders said. They called for an immediate implementation of an earlier Nairobi Communiqué, Goma agreement and all other relevant agreements and protocols to ensure sustainable peace and durable political stability. The meeting also appealed to the UN and all humanitarian agencies that have shown great support for victims of military violence to increase and sustain their support until the human tragedy in Congo is stopped.

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