M7, Kabila, Kagame Order M23 to Ceasefire
Presidents Paul Kagame, host Yoweri Museveni (C) and Joseph Kabila of DRC at last year's ICGLR summit.
President Yoweri Museveni, Joseph Kabila and Paul Kagame of Uganda, DRC and Rwanda respectively, have called for the immediate withdrawal of M23 rebels from the captured towns of Goma, Sake and DRC at large.
At a joint press conference held at Commonwealth Resort, Munyonyo in Kampala on Wednesday evening, the three Heads of State agreed the military option would not solve the crisis in Eastern Congo while Kabila stated that he was ready to have “direct talks” with the rebels and address their “legitimate grievances.”
The conference was a result of a closed-door emergency meeting that was called by Kabila immediately after Goma had fallen to the rebels on Tuesday to discuss how to address the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Eastern DRC after the capture of the North Kivu Provincial capital Goma, by the M23.
The three Presidents agreed that the M23 rebels need to immediately ceasefire or face the wrath of the regional troops. This was after Museveni said, “M23 presence in Goma and Sake is “unacceptable.” We have asked them to go where they came from.”
A comprehensive and operational plan geared towards lasting peace and stability will be drawn up as a matter of urgency to deal with the rebels.
The three Heads of State welcomed the support of the Secretary General of the United Nations who dispatched a special envoy to Kampala to meet with them and discuss the matter.
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need to carefully look and judge these meetings. Bluff or genuine?
What a circus? H.E. Kabila is now ready to sit with M23 rebels to solve their grievances! Did he wait for Goma to fall? He is seeking solace from the two presidents he alleged were assisting the rebels. What surely does this guy, Kabila, want? Have the two presidents stopped supporting the rebels as he asserted?
@ Muhigirwa, he can easily attribute those words to some else – a double, perhaps!
Whatever the case, he needs to expeditiously sort out the mess with the M23; the Wanainchi deserve to be in their homes, not transit or refugee camps!