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Congo Signs Peace Deal With M23 Rebels: Kenya Presidential Spokesman
Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila (front C) walks along a street in Bunagana, a town formerly held by M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, November 30, 2013. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Kenny Katombe
12/12/2013
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Congolese government has signed a peace deal with the M23 rebels it had been fighting until they laid down their arms last month, Kenya's presidential spokesman said on his official Twitter account on Thursday.
"DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) govt, M23 sign peace agreement in Nairobi," Manoah Esipisu wrote on his account.
M23 are the latest incarnation of Tutsi-led insurgents who have battled Congo's government in its mineral-rich eastern regions for more than two decades.
Congo government spokesman Lambert Mende said three documents were signed at the State House in Nairobi and their provisions include a reiteration of the dissolution of M23 as an armed group.
Other provisions include details of demobilization and a renunciation of violence as a means of pursuing future claims, he said.
"The document is very clear: there is no blanket amnesty. Those who are presumed to have committed criminal behavior in terms of international law, war crimes or crimes against humanity will not be reinserted into society," Mende said.
(Reporting by Richard Lough and Pete Jones; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Emma Farge and Andrew Roche)
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