Post date: Jul 29, 2012 12:0:55 AM
The M23 rebels who have launched a rebellion on Kabila's government since April warned that they will not relent until the Kinshasa government was on its knees.
Congolese rebels ask president Joseph Kabila to step down to pave way for talks.
KIBUMBA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (JULY 28, 2012) (REUTERS) - Congolese rebels urged President Joseph Kabila on Saturday (July 28) to step down and dissolve his government for any talks to take place.
Congolese armed forces backed by a United Nations force of about 17,000 have been battling the rebels in the troubled Northern Kivu province but the force is stretched thin across a nation the size of Western Europe.
"Talks can only take place if president Kabila steps down. If he loves himself as president and doesn't want the same problems other presidents have faced and what we are seeing now Syria, he must step down and then we can negotiate," said M23 commander Albert Kahasha.
Recent fighting around two villages in eastern Congo on Friday (July 27) forced Congolese army (FARDC) to retreat and displaced thousands of civilians.
U.N. helicopter gunships frequently back up outgunned government forces but even their firepower fail to prevent the heavily armed M23 rebels from taking several towns this week.
M23 rebels accuse the U.N. forces of indiscriminately shooting at civilians, saying dozens have been killed by their powerful guns.
M23 commander, Innocent Kahina said the peacekeeping force were doing more harm than good and called for investigations.
"In Rutshuru a lot of people were killed by the United Nations peacekeepers and this is not good, this is not what brought the U.N. to Congo. They came here to help Congolese, not to kill them and if this goes on it is going to create another problem," he said
The United Nations Refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates that the rebellion has uprooted some 260,000 people from their homes. Most of the displaced are living in deplorable conditions in Congo, neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda.
Regional leaders are due to meet in Uganda next month.
Leaders from Africa's Great Lakes region plan to send a "neutral force" to Congo to end cycles of violence though no details have yet emerged on where the troops will come from or when they will be deployed.
The M23 rebel movement is mostly made up of fighters from a former rebellion that Rwanda was also accused of supporting before a peace deal was signed and they were integrated into Congo's army.