By Nichola Bariyo and
Alexis Flynn/Associated Press
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Congo’s
M23 rebels
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KAMPALA, Uganda—Hopes for a United
Nations deal struck this weekend aimed at ending the long-running conflict in
Democratic Republic of Congo quickly began to unravel, as rival rebel groups in
eastern Congo entered into a second day of fighting on Monday.
Clashes between rebels in Rutshuru, a
gold-producing region in the restive North Kivu province, began just hours
after the U.N. and 11 regional governments meeting Sunday in Ethiopia agreed to
beef up peacekeeping efforts in the area.
Congo's M23 rebels—mutineers from the
Congolese army who seized a series of eastern towns in a lightning offensive
late last year—weren't involved in the pact, and are locked in separate
negotiations with the Congolese government. On Sunday, fighting broke out
between M23 rebels and those from the Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a
Rwandan rebel group known as the FDLR.
Fighting in Rutshuru continued Monday,
according to aid officials operating in the area and Ugandan soldiers stationed
at the border.
At least 10 civilians were killed in the clashes, which also
left more than a dozen combatants dead, aid officials said. Hundreds of people
have been displaced since Sunday as fighting has spread from Rutshuru toward
the mineral transit hub of Bunagana, near the Ugandan border, said Eddy Mbuyi,
a spokesman for Oxfam in Goma.
"There is a heavy movement of
troops in areas under the M23 control," Mr. Mbuyi said in an interview.
"Humanitarian access is increasingly becoming difficult."
Aid officials and those familiar with
local militaries said some of the recent clashes have been between factions
within the M23—triggered by rifts between M23's renegade former Congo army
general, Bosco Ntaganda, and M23 commander Sultani Makenga, following the
signing of the peace deal in Ethiopia, said the people familiar with the
military.
A spokesman for the M23 rebels denied
the claims, accusing the FDLR of attacking M23 rebel positions late Sunday.
"The attackers retreated late in the night.…We are pursuing them,"
said M23 spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa, who also accused the Congolese government
of helping orchestrate the attack.
Congo has repeatedly denied accusations
leveled against it by Rwanda and the M23 rebels that it backs the FDLR, which
is comprised mainly of extremist Hutus, who are accused of orchestrating the
1994 genocide in Rwanda.
In a signing ceremony in Addis Ababa
overseen by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, leaders from 11 African nations
committed to a "peace framework agreement" that aims to beef up
peacekeeping efforts and appointing a special envoy to help lead mediation
efforts.
However, observers caution that the
initiative, which didn't include the M23 or other rebel groups, could backfire.
"Ironically, this peace deal could
spark more violence," said Jason Stearns, director of the Rift Valley
Institute and a former member of the U.N. group of experts on the Democratic
Republic of Congo, explaining that an excluded M23 may feel they have more to
gain by resuming their fight.
The rebels decried the Addis Ababa
peace agreement, saying that it is likely to bring a return of fighting.
"What was signed in Ethiopia is not a peace agreement, because it is
calling for the use of force," Mr. Bisimwa said. "Our people are
tired of fighting."
The U.S. State Department said that
while it "strongly supported" the signatories' initiative in
committing to the pact, urgent follow-up was needed to ensure the right
mechanisms were put in place to promote regional peace and security.
"The continuing security and
humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC highlights the urgent need for accelerated
reforms within the DRC and increased cooperation among key countries in the
Great Lakes region, particularly the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda," said the
State Department statement.
The M23 has been in peace talks with
the government since December, but with a decisive breakthrough elusive, the
latest clashes risk plunging the Central African nation into renewed war.
Uganda has deployed troops heavily on
its side of the border to avoid the conflict from spilling across, said Lt.
Ninsiima Rwakijuma, the spokesman for the second army division in western
Uganda. "But we won't intervene," he added.
The renewed violence underscores the
precarious security situation in the mineral-rich region, which the U.N. now
hopes to address by deploying a brigade of African soldiers to pursue more than
a dozen rebel groups.
The M23 rebellion, which erupted in
April last year, has displaced nearly 1 million people and threatened to spill
into the wider region as it did in the 1990s.
The U.N.-mediated deal signed Sunday is
meant to restrain neighboring countries from interfering in Congo's
long-standing conflict. Among the signatories were Uganda and Rwanda, which
stand accused by the U.N. of creating, arming and commanding the M23 in Congo.
Both countries deny the accusations.
The U.N. Security Council said Sunday
that despite the deal, it is deeply concerned by worsening unrest in eastern
Congo.
"The overall situation is volatile
and precarious," said Roger Meece, the head of the U.N. peacekeeping
mission in Congo, speaking to the Security Council on Friday. He said that
eastern Congo "could break down at any time into large-scale conflict
without much, if any, prior warning."
Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@dowjones.com and
Alexis Flynn at alexis.flynn@dowjones.com
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