Congo’s leader next, rebels vow

Fighters seize more territory, promise to topple government

People gather around tank shells left behind by retreating government troops Wednesday as they fled an assault by M23 rebels in eastern Congo.
People gather around tank shells left behind by retreating government troops Wednesday as they fled an assault by M23 rebels in eastern Congo.

— The M23 rebels pressed ahead Wednesday with their seizure of territory and towns in eastern Congo and said they intend to topple the government of President Joseph Kabila.

The rebels took control of the eastern Congo town of Sake in a bid to move toward the provincial capital of Bukavu.

“Kabila has to go. We want our country back,” said M23 Col. Vianney Kazarama to cheers from thousands gathered at the stadium in Goma, which was seized by the rebels Tuesday. “We are now going to Kinshasa. No one will divide this country.”

Nearly 3,000 Congolese soldiers and police defected Wednesday to the rebels in Goma and turned in their weapons at the stadium rally.

Even as the rebels consolidated their gains, the presidents of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda called on them to give up the territory they now control.

“Even if there are legitimate grievances by the mutineering group known as M23, they cannot accept the expansion of this war or entertain the idea of overthrowing the legitimate government of [Congo] or undermining its authority,” said Congo’s Kabila, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda in a statement issued late Wednesday.

“Therefore the M23 must immediately stop this offensive and pull out of Goma,” said the presidents’ statement issued in Kampala. This resolution was to be immediately communicated to the M23 leadership, the statement said.

However, a United Nations report released Wednesday accuses the Rwandan military of commanding and supporting the rebel force.

“The government of Rwanda continues to violate the arms embargo by providing direct military support to the M23 rebels, facilitating recruitment, encouraging and facilitating desertions from the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and providing arms, ammunition, intelligence and political advice,” according to the highly anticipated report.

“The de facto chain of command of M23 includes Gen. Bosco Ntaganda and culminates with the Minister of Defence of Rwanda, Gen. James Kabarebe,” it says.

The report also accuses Uganda of involvement. Uganda has said it would pull its troops out of U.N. peacekeeping operations if it was named in the report.

Rwanda and Uganda have denied supporting the M23 rebel movement

Kagame on Wednesday reiterated Rwanda’s denial that it is supporting the rebels, saying each government “must bear the burden” of its own internal problems, according to a diplomat close to the talks, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the emergency summit.

While the three presidents called on the M23 rebels to give up the territory they have seized, the rebels continued Wednesday toward their next target: Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province on Lake Kivu.

The United Nations accuses the M23 group of grave crimes including recruiting child soldiers, summary executions and rape, according to an experts report released Wednesday.

The U.N. peacekeepers did not help the Congo government forces during Tuesday’s battle because they do not have a mandate to engage the rebels, said Congolese military spokesman Olivier Hamuli, who expressed frustration over the lack of action by the peacekeepers.

A U.N. spokesman in New York said the nearly 1,500 U.N. peacekeepers in Goma held their fire to avoid triggering a battle. The peacekeepers “cannot substitute for the efforts of national forces” in Congo, said spokesman Eduardo del Buey.

On Wednesday the Security Council was expected to review the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo. A resolution adopted Tuesday by the Security Council asks the U.N. secretary-general to recommend possible redeployment, and possible “additional force multipliers.”

The resolution approved unanimously by the council imposes targeted sanctions, including a travel ban and assets freeze on the M23 rebel group leadership. But it did not name two countries accused by Congo of supporting the rebels: Rwanda and Uganda.

The council demanded that the M23 rebels withdraw from Goma, disarm and disband, and insisted on the restoration of the crumbing Congolese government authority in the country’s turbulent east.

The resolution also calls for an immediate end to external support to the rebels and asks the U.N. secretary-general to report on the allegations of foreign support while expressing its readiness to take appropriate measures.

Information for this article was contributed by Rodney Muhumuza and Peter James Spielmann of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 11/22/2012

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