Presidents Meet to Discuss How to Bring Peace in DRC

The M23 rebels led by General Bosco Ntaganda in April 2012 launched a rebellion on the Government of President Kabila leading to the displacement of over 250,000 people.

Ntaganda and Kagame Special thanks to anngarrison.com

(KAMPALA) - Leaders of great lakes region are meeting in Uganda in the 4th fourth emergency summit on the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.(DRC)

The meeting which started today morning is being held at Speke Resort Munyonyo in the outskirts of Uganda's capital Kampala. It is meant to come up with solutions on the civil war in Democratic republic of Congo were M23 rebels are engaged in battles with government troops in eastern Congo.

The M23 rebels led by General Bosco Ntaganda in April 2012 launched a rebellion on the Government of President Kabila leading to the displacement of over 250,000 people. Another 70,000 people have crossed to neighboring Uganda and Rwanda where they have been placed in camps.

Rwanda has been accused by Congo for supporting the rebels but president, Kagame has denied the accusations. However both Presidents Joseph Kabila of Congo and and Paul Kagame of Rwanda are attending the meeting.

Other leaders at the meeting are Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, Salva Kiir of South Sudan and Vice Presidents, Dr Muhammed Gharib Bilal of Tanzania and Dr Alhaj Adam Youssuf of Sudan. The ministers who represented their presidents are General Charles Richard Mondjo from Republic of Congo Brazaville, Candido Van Dunem Pereira Do Santos from Angola, Prof. Sam Ongeri from Kenya and and Lungu Edgar from Zambia.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has sent message to the meeting urging those attending to try all they can to reach peaceful solutions.He said that he was deeply concerned about the security and humanitarian conditions which continue to deteriorate and pose threat to the stability of the wider Great Lakes Region.

Ban Ki-Moon attacked M23 and other rebels for destabilizing Congo.He said, ' The M23 has recently made advances Northwards from its positions in North Kivu.It is continuing to destabilize activities in the area that it occupies and is perpetrating serious human rights violations, including child recruitment and sexual violence.'

He called for punitive measures to M23 rebels.

Being the current head of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR,Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni has chaired the meeting.

A secretary to the meeting, Marion Dibe said, 'They have a lot to talk about.But the main agenda is on composition and deployment of the proposed international neutral force to be deployed in the disturbed areas of DRC where rebels are killing innocent people.'

She said that countries sharing borders with Congo are not supposed to contribute troops. So far,Tanzania and South Africa are the only countries that have pledged to contribute troops.

African countries rarely contribute troops for peacekeeping in other countries.In Somalia,it is only Burundi and Uganda which have so far sent their troops for peace keeping mission.Kenya entered Somalia only after Al Shabaab rebels attacked her and abducted tourists.

Click the 'Rwanda' tag below for a long list of related stories published and written by Jennifer Fierberg MSW for Salem-News.com.