Tutsi rebels have pulled out of a cease-fire with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The cease-fire was destined to fall apart because of the failure to address Rwandan interests.
Tutsi rebel forces under Gen. Laurent Nkunda suspended participation Feb. 22 in a cease-fire agreement with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Though Nkunda himself has said that his forces have not abandoned the cease-fire, the deal’s failure to address the interests of Rwanda, which is believed to be backing Nkunda’s forces, effectively doomed it.
Nkunda’s forces, known as the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), and other rebel groups agreed to the cease-fire with the DRC government Jan. 23. Signed in the North Kivu provincial capital, Goma, the cease-fire aimed to end conflict in the country’s mineral-rich North Kivu province. While the agreement addresses amnesty and disarmament programs, it does not address Rwanda’s interests in the eastern DRC.