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JOMBA, Congo-Congolese Tutsi rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda threatened war Saturday unless Congo's government entered a new round of talks with him.Nkunda, whose forces have routed government troops and gained swathes of territory in North Kivu province in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo since launching a new offensive in August, has repeatedly demanded negotiations.Nkunda said he had been told by the U.N. special envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, that Kinshasa had accepted the principle of talks."If there is no negotiation, let us say then there is war," Nkunda told reporters after meeting Obasanjo in the rebel commander's native village, Jomba."I know that (the government) has no capacity to fight, so they have only one choice: negotiations," he said."We asked for a response as to where, when, and with whom we are going to do these talks. For us, we propose Nairobi and for the mediator we proposed chief Obasanjo."Video footage of the meeting provided by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, showed Obasanjo criticizing Nkunda for recent hostilities, including Thursday's capture of the town of Ishasha, on the border with Uganda."What has happened in the last 14 days has not made me happy," Obasanjo said, rising to his feet to address Nkunda, who remained seated at a low table."I tried to build a relationship of trust, but I don't receive the same from you."Obasanjo said Nkunda should have informed him he was planning fresh offensives."You are making me a laughing stock," he said.Nkunda, who wore a white robe with matching shoes and scarf, wrung his hands said the ceasefire he had declared applied only to fighting against the Congolese army, not against what he described as "foreign negative forces."That ceasefire has brought nearly two weeks of relative calm. But his men have continued attacking Congolese and Rwandan militia allies of the government.To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
