Rebel group to disarm in Democratic Republic of Congo

A rebel group that fought the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo for nearly two years announced Tuesday it would disarm.
In a statement on the Facebook page for M23, leader Bertrand Bisimwa said the group would immediately end its rebellion and "pursue, by purely political means, a search for solutions to the profound issues that led to its creation."
The move came a day after the group and the Congolese government agreed to a ceasefire, during talks in South Africa. Previous talks took place in Uganda.
"To this effect, the major general and all unit commanders of the of the Congolese Revolutionary Army are asked to prepare the troops for the disarmament process," Bisimwa's statement added.
"This is a hopeful first step toward peace and prosperity in this region," said Russ Feingold, the U.S. special envoy to the Congo and the Great Lakes region. He predicted that the agreements could be signed "in the next few days."
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Rwanda the key to Congo's peace

The escalation in recent days of eastern Congo's brutal war demonstrates that unless its root causes are addressed in a broader peace process, violence could intensify and Rwanda could be drawn more directly into the fray, regionalizing the war.

Over the past week, Congo's army has nearly militarily defeated the most powerful rebel group, the M23. Rwanda has threatened to strike Congo in retaliation for what it claims was shelling on its territory by Congo's army.

M23 may soon be a spent force militarily, but many other armed groups are still active and could replace it as major destabilizers of eastern Congo unless the root causes of the war are addressed.

Recently suspended talks in Uganda only involve the Congolese government and M23, and address none of the underlying political, economic, or security drivers of violence that have created the deadliest conflict globally since World War II.

Corrupt governance, intercommunal divisions and illegal exploitation of lucrative natural resources allow the Congolese army and a host of predatory militias to operate with impunity. But the most important factor in ending mass violence is the Congo-Rwanda relationship and the economic and security interests that underlie it.

The fates of Rwanda and Congo are deeply intertwined.

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