Congo army in call for war

A CONGOLESE government army commander has said only war can end a rebellion in the east by Tutsi-led insurgents as the rebels prepared to withdraw from the border city of Goma under a deal brokered by 
Uganda.

The comments yesterday from Congo’s newly appointed head of land forces, Lieutenant-General Francois Olenga Tete, appeared to fly in the face of international efforts to settle the conflict, and reflected anger in the army’s officer corps at the prospect of any negotiation with the fighters.

M23 rebels opposed to president Joseph Kabila seized Goma, provincial capital of North Kivu province on 20 November after routing United Nations-backed government forces.

Rebel leaders have said they will quit the steamy lakeside city on the border with Rwanda in line with a deal announced at the weekend by presidents of Great Lakes states who fear the rebellion in Congo could escalate into wider conflict.