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November 16, 2008

UN Envoy Meets Rebels as New Fighting Flares in DRC
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UN says fighting broke out just hours before the envoy, former Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo, began discussions with rebel leader Laurent
Nkunda 
The U.N.'s special envoy on Congo began talks Sunday with the Democratic
Republic of Congo's main rebel leader, as heavy fighting erupted in the
eastern part of the country. UN special envoy, former Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo, right, is greeted by CNDP rebel leader Laurent
Nkunda, in Jomba, east Congo, near the Uganda border, 16 Nov 2008The
U.N. says the fighting broke out just hours before the envoy, former
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, began discussions with rebel
leader Laurent Nkunda. It was not immediately clear which armed groups
were involved in Sunday's fighting in Ndeko, about 90 kilometers north
of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province. Rebels, the army and
pro-government militias are all operating in the region. Mr. Obasanjo
met with the DRC's president, Joseph Kabila, on Saturday. The envoy said
the president did not set any conditions for his talks with the rebels.
As Mr. Obasanjo arrived in the eastern region Saturday, a U.N!
 . spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich, said the army and
rebels exchanged fire for about 10 minutes in Kabasha, about 70
kilometers north of Goma. Government forces and rebels have clashed
repeatedly in the eastern DRC since August, in violation of a cease-fire
they agreed to in January. The United Nations estimates 250,000 people
have been displaced since August. On Friday, the foreign ministers of
the DRC and Rwanda met to discuss the crisis. They agreed that Rwandan
intelligence officers would join DRC troops fighting Hutu extremists in
the eastern DRC. The presence of Hutu extremists in the DRC is what led
Nkunda to begin his rebellion in 2004. Nkunda says he is fighting to
protect Tutsi communities against Hutus who were responsible for
Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Some information for this report was provided by
AFP and AP.


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