'Friendly' Kagame, Kabila renew hope for DRC peace
A combination of two pictures taken on October 8, 2012 shows the presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo's Joseph Kabila (L) and of Rwanda Paul Kagame following proceedings during a summit on the chronic unrest in east DRC. The two leaders took part in a meeting at UN headquarters on September 23, 2013 that reviewed implementation of a regional peace accord signed by 11 countries in February. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
The two leaders took part in a meeting at UN headquarters in New York that reviewed implementation of a regional peace accord signed by 11 countries in February.
Participants agreed to abide by a series of "benchmarks" that will measure progress in implementing the February peace agreement.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila spoke with one another "in a very friendly way" at the close of a "very positive day" of DRC peace talks, a United Nations special envoy said on Monday.
The two leaders took part in a meeting at UN headquarters in New York that reviewed implementation of a regional peace accord signed by 11 countries in February.
A joint statement issued by 10 countries on Monday condemned renewed violence on the part of the M23 rebel group in the DRC, which UN monitors say is supported by Rwanda.
Meeting participants also denounced recent shelling of Rwandan territory, which the country's government has blamed on the DRC's military.
The communiqué further censured all "negative forces" operating in the eastern DRC, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the mainly Hutu group that seeks the overthrow of Kagame's government.
The Mayi Mayi militia was named as another of those "negative forces," as was the Allied Democratic Forces/National Army for the Liberation of Uganda, a mostly Muslim force. Its recent attacks inside the DRC have "led to continuing massive internal displacements and flow of refugees," Monday's statement said.
Mary Robinson, the UN special envoy for the Great Lakes region, was upbeat in comments to reporters following the talks.
“We are going to see a real difference," she predicted. "Armed groups will not be allowed to continue with this terrible situation, where families live in fear and people are displaced.”
Ms Robinson added that each head of state or national representative addressing the closed-door session "spoke with a firm conviction that the region has to move forward.”
Participants agreed to abide by a series of "benchmarks" that will measure progress in implementing the February peace agreement, Ms Robinson said.
Rwanda had been moving toward invading the DRC in recent weeks as battles intensified near the country's border. M23 rebels resisted a combined offensive by DRC forces and the UN's first-ever strike force.
