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DR Congo Rebels, Government to Start Talks Friday
[An Nahar] Rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo or Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... will start talks with Kinshasa's government in Kampala on Friday, to "resolve the conflict" in the volatile and mineral-rich east, a Ugandan official said. "Delegations from the DRC government and M23 (rebels) shall begin preliminary meetings tomorrow," Ugandan government front man Fred Opolot told news hounds Thursday. The rebels' lightning capture of the mining hub of Goma on November 20, eight months after the army mutineers launched an uprising against the government, had sparked fears of a wider war and a major humanitarian crisis. M23 fighters, largely from the ethnic Tutsi community, pulled out of Goma at the weekend. They are expected to have a raft of potential demands, including major political reform for the war-weary region. Initial meetings will work focus on fixing the "ground rules and working framework" for the subsequent main body of talks, with negotiations on which observers would attend those talks, Opolot added. Posted by: Fred 2012-12-07 |
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