An internally displaced Congolese child heats water at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese flee the eastern Congolese town of Sake , 27kms west of Goma, Friday Nov. 23 2012. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as platoons of rebels were making their way across the hills from Sake to the next major town of Minova, where the Congolese army was believed to be regrouping. The militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese M23 rebel soldiers are seen on the road to Rushuru near Buhumba some 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of Goma, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Rebel spokesman Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama vowed Thursday that the fighters would press forward toward seizing the strategic eastern town of Bukavu, which would mark the biggest gain in rebel territory in nearly a decade if it were to fall. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese cross the deserted market as they flee after Congolese soldiers and rebel fighters battled for hours over the eastern Congolese town of Sake, 27 kilometers (17 miles) west of Goma, Thursday Nov. 22, 2012. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as the militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
A Congolese man wounded by gunshot grimaces after Congolese soldiers and rebel fighters battled for hours over the eastern Congolese town of Sake, 27 kilometers (17 miles) west of Goma, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as the militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese flee after Congolese soldiers and rebel fighters battled for hours over the eastern Congolese town of Sake, 27 kilometers (17 miles) west of Goma, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as the militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese flee after Congolese soldiers and rebel fighters battled for hours over the eastern Congolese town of Sake, 27 kilometers (17 miles) west of Goma, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as the militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Nurses at a hospital in Goma Congo Saturday Nov. 24, 2012 treat a victim wounded in fighting between Government troop and M23 rebels . Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
An internally displaced Congolese child heats water at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese rebels man a toll station in the eastern Congolese town of Sake , 27kms west of Goma, Friday Nov. 23 2012. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as platoons of rebels were making their way across the hills from Sake to the next major town of Minova, where the Congolese army was believed to be regrouping. The militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese rebels walk in the eastern Congolese town of Sake , 27kms west of Goma, Friday Nov. 23 2012. Thousands fled the M23 controlled town as platoons of rebels were making their way across the hills from Sake to the next major town of Minova, where the Congolese army was believed to be regrouping. The militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese policemen gather at the Mugunga police training center near the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Friday Nov. 23 2012. The officers were called by M23 rebel officials to receive an ideological briefing. Platoons of rebels were making their way across the hills from Sake to the next major town of Minova, where the Congolese army was believed to be regrouping. The militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Blood stains the floor of the hospital in Goma Congo Saturday Nov. 24, 2012 . Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Nurses at a hospital in Goma Congo Saturday Nov. 24, 2012 treat a victim wounded in fighting between Government troop and M23 rebels . Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
An internally displaced Congolese child heats water at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Internally displaced Congolese prepare food at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
An internally displaced Congolese man listen to the radio at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Internally displaced Congolese men sit on a school bench at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
An internally displaced Congolese man listen to the radio at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Congolese policemen gather at the Mugunga police training center near the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Friday Nov. 23 2012. The officers were called by M23 rebel officials to receive an ideological briefing. Platoons of rebels were making their way across the hills from Sake to the next major town of Minova, where the Congolese army was believed to be regrouping. The militants seeking to overthrow the government vowed to push forward despite mounting international pressure.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Internally displaced Congolese prepare food at the Mugunga camp outside the eastern Congolese town of Goma, Saturday Nov. 24, 2012. Regional leaders meeting in Uganda on Saturday called for an end to the advance by M23 rebels toward Congo’s capital, and also urged the Congolese government to sit down with rebel leaders as residents fled some towns for fear of more fighting between the rebels and army.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Few in the U.S. are talking about the ongoing war raging in the Eastern Congo, a point actor Ben Affleck made on the Sunday shows this weekend. But as the war enters possible negotiations, according to the AP, people continue to suffer, as this AP photo essay shows.
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Congolese officials are in talks Sunday with representatives of M23, the rebel group that last week took control of the eastern Congo city of Goma, according to Ugandan officials.
Ugandan Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga said that he is mediating discussions to help both sides reach a settlement that would end a violent rebellion that has sucked in Uganda and Rwanda, which both face charges of backing the rebels.
M23 President Jean-Marie Runiga is leading the rebels in the talks, according to Rene Abandi, M23′s head of external relations.
Abandi, who is now based in the Ugandan capital Kampala, said M23 representatives met with Congolese President Joseph Kabila in a tense, two-hour meeting that was also attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
“He tried to accuse us and we also tried to accuse him,” Abandi said of the meeting with Kabila on Saturday. “It was a meeting to have a common understanding of the principle of negotiation. (Kabila) said he’s ready to negotiate directly with us.”
But some Congolese officials in the capital Kinshasa have said there will be no talks with the rebels unless they quit Goma. A regional summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region in Kampala — attended by both Kabila and Museveni — on Saturday called on the rebels to leave Goma and urged Kabila to listen to the “legitimate grievances” of M23.
Despite the regional leaders’ demands for the rebel forces to withdraw from Goma, M23 soldiers were visibly in control of the city Sunday. M23 also still held Sake, a contested town 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Goma. The Congolese army attacked the town Saturday, but M23 retained control.
M23 President Runiga said that withdrawal from Goma was “under consideration” and, while M23 did not oppose the idea “in principle,” no decision had been taken yet, according to M23 spokesman Lt. Col. Vianney Kazarama, speaking to the Associated Press. Runiga is still in Kampala and no official response to the demands from the regional summit is expected before his return to Congo, said Kazarama in Goma.
“We are waiting to hear from Runiga when he will be back from Kampala,” said Kazarama.
“Since May we have asked to meet with President Kabila,” said Amani Kabasha, M23′s deputy spokesman. “At least now there has been contact. The door is open for talks to find the durable peace that eastern Congo needs.”
Government troops remain in Minova, 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Sake, following a failed attack on M23 last Thursday. Unruly Congo army soldiers had looted residents for the third night running, according to a United Nations official in the town who insisted upon anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. U.N. peacekeepers patrolled Minova throughout the night to protect civilians from the rampaging government troops.
In Minova, Congo Gen. Francois Olenga, who was recently named head of the Congolese army, held meetings with area commanders . “The country is in danger. We cannot defend our country with traitors,” said Olenga to The Associated Press.
Pickup trucks packed with Congolese army soldiers armed with automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenades sped through Minova to regroup at the local soccer stadium. Army soldiers were also walking in the streets, looking for food. Some army soldiers were selling cigarettes on the side of the road.
An M23 communiqué sent Saturday night claimed that government regiments were moving into attack positions around rebel-held territory.
“Let them attack us!” said M23 spokesman Kazarama. “Do they have the strength? Absolutely not, we are in a strong position.”
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Jones reported from Goma, Congo. Associated Press reporter Melanie Gouby contributed to this report from Goma. Associated Press photojournalist Jerome Delay contributed from Minova.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
