Congo: 32 die in clash between army and militia

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The Congolese army says that 32 were killed in fighting between soldiers and Mai Mai militiamen.

The rebels launched an assault early Wednesday on the town of Beni, 220 miles (350 kilometers) north of Goma.

Army spokesman Col. Olivier Hamuli said the assailants targeted a military center there. At least 24 militiamen were killed and three soldiers died including a lieutenant colonel.

He said five others who were awaiting transfer to a military training center also were killed.

Resident Jean Kambale said heavy gunfire had rocked the town since early Wednesday but that calm had returned by the afternoon.

Eastern Congo has been wracked by fighting since the end of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda and is home to a myriad of violent armed groups.

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Tanzanian troops arrive in eastern Congo

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A contingent of about 100 Tanzanian troops arrived in eastern Congo Saturday, a first step in assembling the new United Nations intervention brigade, said a U.N. spokesman.

The Tanzanian troops are the first batch to form the U.N. intervention brigade to be deployed in eastern Congo following a Security Council resolution in March, said peacekeeping mission spokesman Lt. Col. Felix Basse.

On March 28th, the U.N. Security Council voted a resolution that renewed the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo for one year, and created a special intervention brigade that has an aggressive mandate that allows it to fight armed groups, rather than merely defend civilians.

The intervention brigade commander arrived in Goma on the 23rd April, but troops meant to arrive by the end of April have only just started arriving in eastern Congo. The rest of the troops will arrive in stages, but no clear deadline has been given so far.

Malawi and South Africa have pledged to contribute troops to the U.N. force.

The need for an intervention force became clear in November, when the U.N. peacekeepers merely stood by as Congo's M23 rebels took the provincial capital of Goma. The rebels eventually withdrew from the city two weeks later, but the fall of Goma convinced the international community to create a brigade with a more assertive mandate to try to put an end to the turmoil in which has plagued eastern Congo for years.

But with just over 3,000 special troops to battle more than 25 armed groups in the Kivu region alone, the new U.N. brigade risks being spread too thin, say military experts. Already eastern Congo's M23 rebels are training fighters in guerrilla tactics to fight the U.N. troops.

The Congolese army, with poor discipline and lacking resources, has been unable to contain the rebels maintain order in the east. Congo's authorities have put a lot of hope that the new U.N. brigade will help solve the security crisis in the east.

"With the first Tanzanian troops landing, a new dynamic will emerge in the east. Security problems cannot be solved in one day," said Congo's prime minister, Augustin Matata Ponyo, to the Associated Press from his office in Kinshasa, Congo's capital. "The most important thing is that the government is aware of this problem and is working to solve it."

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Associated Press writer Saleh Mwanamilongo contributed to this report from Kinshasa, Congo.

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UN: Girls as young as 6 raped by Congo troops

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Congolese troops fleeing the M23 rebels last November raped at least 97 women and 33 girls, some as young as 6, a U.N. report released Wednesday said.

The U.S. Africa Command trained one of the units involved, Commando Battalion 391, in 2010 to be "a model for future reforms within the Congolese armed forces," according to the AFRICOM web site.

The U.N. report covered "mass rape, killings, and arbitrary executions and violations resulting from widespread looting," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters.

A report by the U.N. Joint Human Rights Office says most of the rapes took place over Nov. 22-23 in the eastern Congo town of Minova.

The report says that "One or two of the soldiers would leave with the looted goods and at least one would stand guard as the remaining (Congolese) soldiers raped women and girls in the house. Victims were threatened with death if they shouted; some were raped at gunpoint. Most victims were raped by more than one soldier."

"The victims included 33 girls aged between 6 and 17," Nesirky said.

During their occupation of Goma and Sake, "M23 combatants perpetrated serious violations of human law and gross human rights violations," Nesirky said, including at least 59 cases of sexual violence.

The mass rapes occurred in November, 2012, after the Congolese army was defeated by the M23 rebels who seized the provincial capital of Goma, in eastern Congo. The national army retreated in disorder.

Commanders lost control of their troops, or were unwilling to impose discipline over their men who regrouped some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Goma, in Minova.

A small, dusty town on the shore of lake Kivu, Minova is home to several thousand people. For days, the Congolese army raped, killed and looted in anger and disarray after their defeat, before discipline could be re-established by army commanders.

The report says 11 Congolese soldiers have been arrested by the Congolese military prosecutor's office, "including two for murder, but only two for related cases of rape." The other charges were not specified.

The commanding officers and deputy commanding officers of the two main battalions suspected of committing these acts, as well as officers of eight other units, have been suspended, the U.N. said.

The report specifies the Congolese units involved in the Minova attacks as the 41 and 391 battalions. The 391 battalion was trained by the U.S. Africa Command in 2010.

Military magistrates from both North Kivu and South Kivu, U.N. peacekeeping and humanitarian agency staff travelled to Minova and surrounding villages from Feb. 6-13, and "military investigators took testimony from several hundred victims, including a large number of victims of sexual violence," the report said.

Roger Meece, head of the U.N. mission in Congo, said the investigation "should be pursed in an independent and credible manner."

"Those responsible for such crimes must know that they will be prosecuted," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement, calling the sexual violence outlined in the report "horrifying" in scale and systematic nature.

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On the Web:

The U.N. report on Congo rapes: http://monusco.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Pj7jOWjAxWo%3d&tabid=10662&language=en-US

AFRICOM's web announcement of the training of Battalion 391: http://www.africom.mil/Newsroom/Article/7727/750-congolese-soldiers-graduate-from-us-led-milita

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Dozens kidnapped in M23 fief in Congo: officials

RUTSHURU, Congo (AP) — Nearly 30 people have been kidnapped in eastern Congo by the M23 rebels in their fief of Rutshuru since the beginning of April, said a community leader on Wednesday. The kidnappings appear to be for ransom, a new and worrying trend in Congo's lawless east.

The latest abduction took place Sunday, when an advisor to the area's Catholic schools, Gratien Bahati, was stopped on his way back to Rutshuru's town center. He was released after a $5,000 ransom was paid, according to the president of North Kivu Civil Society Thomas d'Acquin Muiti.

At least few other kidnap victims have been released on ransom, while others are still missing. The M23 rebel group denies being involved in the kidnappings, even though they are the only armed rebels in the area.

"We were 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Rutshuru when three armed men wearing police uniforms stopped us, and placed themselves on each side of the motorbike," said Georges Mumbere, the motorbike taxi driver who was carrying Bahati. "They called him by his name and forced him to get off and then they walked away with him in the bush," he said.

School was cancelled on Monday in Rutshuru following Bahati's abduction. Bahati was freed on Tuesday, after the ransom was paid to the kidnappers, said Muiti. The M23 said they had nothing to do with the incident.

The M23 rebels celebrated the one-year anniversary of the creation of their armed group with a ceremony in the town center earlier this week, but residents privately complained about the growing climate of fear under the rebels' rule.

"There is too much insecurity, it's even dangerous to go to school," said Asante, a 15-year-old girl dressed in the white blouse and long blue skirt that is her school's uniform. She would only give her first name, out of fear of reprisals.

Some residents blame the M23 for the spate of kidnappings.

"The abductions were carried out by men wearing police uniforms, in the M23 territory. The M23 intelligence services are excellent, they know everything that is happening in their territory and their police forces are the only ones wearing uniforms in the area, so it has to be them," said a local religious leader, who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisal from the rebel group.

Insecurity has increased since the M23 took control of the territory in July 2012, say residents who add that simply walking outside after dark is dangerous. Many have simply gone missing, they said.

In addition to the ransoms, the population must pay taxes now to M23 and many people have lost their jobs because Congolese government services have shut down. The area is experiencing a cash shortage, making everyday life a strain for many.

The M23 rebel group gets its name from the date of a March 23, 2009 peace accord which paved the way for fighters belonging to the now-defunct rebel group, the National Congress for the People, or CNDP, to join the ranks of the regular army. It was an imperfect solution to years of conflict in the troubled east of Congo, and until 2012, the accord was more or less respected. The ex-CNDP fighters, now wearing the uniform of the regular army, continued to control access to lucrative tin, tantalum and tungsten mines, as the Congolese government largely looked the other way in the interest of maintaining peace.

But starting on April 4, 2012, they began defecting from the regular army by the hundreds, citing their bad living conditions and claiming that the terms of the three-year-old agreement was not being respected. Country watchers, including investigators with the United Nations Group of Experts, believe the defections were prompted by changes inside the army which made it more difficult for the ex-rebels to continue their control of the mining trade.

Subsequent reports by the U.N. Group of Experts revealed that the M23 rebellion is being financed and orchestrated by neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, through which the minerals are funneled. Last December the M23 fighters left their base in Rutshuru and pushed south, taking the crucial provincial capital of Goma for a few tense days, in the single-largest blow to the Congolese government in a decade.

They pulled back under intense international pressure on the rebels as well as on their alleged patron, Rwanda, which saw aid cut off from numerous European nations.

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Associated Press writer Rukmini Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal.

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Report: Congo officers benefit from mineral trade

GOMA, Congo (AP) — An environmental watchdog group says armed groups and high-ranking officers in the Congolese army are continuing to benefit from the illegal mineral trade in eastern Congo, despite international efforts to clean up the supply chain.

The report published Tuesday by Global Witness says that although there are signs of improvement in Congo's tin and tantalum sectors, the "progress remains localized."

The gold trade in particular remains a problem. The report said tons of gold mined in eastern Congo is smuggled to neighboring Burundi every year because it is easily smuggled across borders and proper checks are not carried out by local buyers in Africa's Great Lakes region or by international traders. Laundered through the Burundian local trade, the gold is exported to Dubai where it is bought by international traders.

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Officers in Congo benefitting from mineral trade

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Armed groups and high-ranking officers in the Congolese and Burundian armies are continuing to benefit from the illegal mineral trade in eastern Congo, despite international efforts to clean up the supply chain, according to a report published Tuesday by an environmental watchdog group.

Although there are signs of improvement in Congo's tin and tantalum sectors, the "progress remains localized," said the report by London-based Global Witness.

The gold trade in particular remains a problem. Because gold is easily smuggled across borders and proper checks are not carried out by local buyers in the Great Lakes region or by international traders, tons of the mineral mined in eastern Congo are smuggled to neighboring Burundi every year. Laundered through the Burundian local gold trade, the mineral is then exported to Dubai where it is bought by international traders, said the report.

High-ranking officers in both the Congolese and Burundian armies are benefiting from the illegal trade, as well as local armed rebels who use the cash to buy weapons in order to carry on their fight, according to the research by Global Witness. Moreover, armed groups often fight each other over the control of mines.

Eastern Congo's population bears the brunt of the conflict fueled by the corrupted mineral trade. Last week, two groups fought each other for control of Pinga, in the Walikale territory, a mineral-rich area in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo. Thousands of people fled into the forest to avoid the clashes between the APCLS and Mai Mai Cheka rebels. Eleven employees of international charity Doctors Without Borders went missing.

Senior Congolese officers also abuse their position to benefit from the minerals trade, says the report.

Gen. Gabriel Amissi, the former army chief of staff, used his power to control the Omate gold mine in Walikale, says Global Witness.

"Col. Mundos, a former member of the Presidential guard, manages collection of daily production at the mine site on behalf of the general," says the report.

Gen. Amissi was removed from his post in November 2012, following the revelations in the United Nations Group of Experts report, showing Amissi had provided weapons and ammunition to a local armed group called the Raia Mutomboki. Amissi is still benefiting from the gold trade through the patronage network he was set up, Global Witness says. Amissi, currently in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, has not been charged with a crime.

Although smuggling remains widespread, ongoing international efforts to clean up the trade have led to some improvements, says the report. In October 2012, the Conflict-Free Tin Initiative launched in the Kalimbi mine attempted to set up a system to trace the minerals' journey out of Congo and ensure that the metals mined here do not contribute to the conflict.

"Although localized, these positive developments represent emerging opportunities for responsible sourcing, which the Congolese government, companies and international donors should support and develop," says the report.

Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank law, passed by the United States Congress in July 2010, requires that American companies apply due diligence to make sure that the minerals they are buying from the Great Lakes region are not conflict minerals. The European Commission is currently considering a similar supply chain initiative for European companies.

These initiatives have received mixed reviews, with critics pointing to the little impact they have had on the conflict itself, as well as the harmful, de facto embargo by U.S. companies leading to many local miners losing their livelihood.

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Rebel group: Congo warlord wanted control of M23

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A spokesman for a Congolese rebel group said Thursday that rebel fighters in the M23 group were trying to kill warlord Bosco Ntaganda, who fled Congo and turned himself in to a U.S. Embassy last week before being transferred to the International Criminal Court.

Rene Abandi said Ntaganda tried to "influence the chain of command" but went too far when he challenged M23 military chief Sultani Makenga.

Fierce clashes between rival factions of M23 earlier this month left Makenga with the upper hand and triggered the chain of events that forced Ntaganda to give up his freedom after nearly seven years as a fugitive warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

On March 18, days after losing a fight with an M23 faction loyal to Makenga, Ntaganda showed up the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda and asked to be transferred to the ICC. This week he made his first court appearance at The Hague.

"What shocked Gen. Makenga was this fight which was the stupidity of Ntaganda," Abandi said from the rebel stronghold of Bunagana in eastern Congo. "After that our goal was just to neutralize him because he was causing problems. He tried to influence the movement from outside."

It remains unclear how Ntaganda ended up in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, or what motivated him to surrender. Abandi said they believe he sneaked into Rwanda through a jungle crossing that is not heavily policed by Rwandan border officials.

"He passed through an area where there is no official border, near the Virunga National Park," Abandi said.

Ntaganda, the boss of a rebel group that was M23's precursor, had lived a relatively free life in the eastern Congolese town of Goma, allegedly occupying a villa there and even playing tennis. An ethnic Tutsi born in Rwanda, he was first indicted in 2006 by the ICC for allegedly recruiting child soldiers during a 2002-03 conflict in Congo's eastern Ituri province. A second arrest warrant issued last July accused him of crimes including murder, rape, sexual slavery and pillaging.

For M23, according to Abandi, Ntaganda's exit from the Congo left the group stronger even as it dimmed hopes for a peace process that had been under way in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, since December. Those talks are now on hold, with both the Congolese and M23 delegations saying they are holding consultations.

M23 had split at the end of February following a dispute among the leaders of the movement when Makenga dismissed the political head of the movement, Jean-Marie Runiga. Both men then formed their own factions, which have been fighting since.

The fight between M23 factions divided the group's peace delegation and led to the ouster of its leader, Francois Rucogoza, who is now afraid to return home, according to Chrispus Kiyonga, the talks' Ugandan mediator.

M23 is made up of hundreds of soldiers who deserted the Congolese army last April. The rebels accuse Congo's government of failing to honor the terms of a 2009 peace deal that incorporated them into the national army. In turn, the government accuses M23 of violating that agreement by taking up arms instead of talking. Even as human-rights groups charge M23 with numerous human-rights violations in eastern Congo, regional leaders have urged the Congolese government to listen to the "legitimate grievances" of M23.

According to Abandi, Ntaganda's side spread rumors that Makenga was secretly doing business with the government in Kinshasa even as a delegation from M23 negotiated peace with the Congolese government in neighboring Uganda. When those claims failed to sow discord among the fighters, he said, Ntaganda then tried to challenge Makenga militarily.

"Gen. Makenga won the fight," he said. "The morale of the troops is now high. They are very proud of their general."

There is no international arrest warrant out for Makenga, but he is under U.N. sanctions and rights groups say he has committed crimes similar to those attributed to Ntaganda.

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UN : At least 35 people killed by Congo fighters

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The United Nations mission in Congo says at least 35 people were killed after hundreds of militia fighters attacked the southeast mining center of Lubumbashi, before surrendering.

The U.N. says at least 54 people had also been injured and were transferred to hospitals, among them the Mai Mai fighters.

The statement by the U.N. on Sunday welcomes the surrender of 245 Mai Mai fighters.

U.N.-run Radio Okapi on Saturday reported that fighters — armed with bows and arrows and machetes — had surrendered to the U.N. peacekeeping force. Children were reportedly among the militia when it attacked the city.

The Mai Mai militiamen are seeking to secede from Katanga province. Eastern Congo is home to a myriad of rebel groups who terrorize civilians, though most attacks are further north.

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Congo warlord Bosco Ntaganda remains at US Embassy

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Wanted on an international warrant for alleged war crimes, Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda lived openly in Congo for years, playing tennis at exclusive clubs and dining at lakeside restaurants in full view of foreign diplomats and U.N. peacekeepers.

That all ended when the 39-year-old known as "The Terminator" suddenly turned himself in Monday to the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda and asked to be handed over to the International Criminal Court — a surprise move that followed a split in Ntaganda's rebel group and apparent loss of support from his backers in the Rwandan government.

"My best guess is that his options came down to go to The Hague or be killed," Tony Gambino, the former director of USAID in Congo, said of the about-face by Ntaganda, one of Africa's most-wanted men.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday that Ntaganda would remain at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali while U.S. officials worked to "facilitate his transfer to The Hague at his own request."

Noting that Rwanda's Justice Ministry had promised safe passage, she said, "now it's a matter of working out the modalities, and that's going to take a little time."

Ntaganda, an ethnic Tutsi, was first indicted in 2006 by the ICC for allegedly building an army of child soldiers during a 2002-2003 conflict in Congo's eastern Ituri province. A second arrest warrant issued last July accused him of a range of crimes, including murder, rape, sexual slavery and pillaging.

Those who until recently fought alongside him say that Ntaganda fled Congo over the weekend after his men lost a key battle against fighters who split off last month from his M23 rebel movement.

Ntaganda was long believed to have been backed by Rwanda, which provided financial and logistical support to the ethnic Tutsi rebels he commanded in Congo's mineral-rich east.

After the rebels seized the Congolese city of Goma in November, U.N. investigators issued a day-by-day outline of the invasion, detailing how Rwanda equipped, trained, advised, reinforced and directly commanded the rebellion, including sending four companies from Rwanda's 305th brigade across the border to conduct operations.

Rwanda has fiercely denied the accusations, but several countries including the United States and Britain cut off aid to Congo's smaller, but more developed neighbor as a result.

Ntaganda became more vulnerable last month when the M23 split into two camps over the decision to bow to international pressure and withdraw from Goma late last year.

Ntaganda and another rebel leader, Jean-Marie Runiga, had opposed any pullout, but a rebel general, Sultani Makenga, ordered a retreat and initiated peace talks with the Congo government.

After entering Rwanda in the pre-dawn hours Saturday, Ntaganda tried to reach out to his backers in the Rwandan army, said Stanislas Baleke, a political official in the M23 movement who has links to Ntaganda. "But once he was in Rwanda they told him they could not guarantee his security," Baleke said.

Ntaganda was then told by his Rwandan contacts to go to the U.S. Embassy, he said, noting that the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court and has no obligation to hand Ntaganda over to the court.

Nuland said the U.S. had no prior contact with Ntaganda or advance notice that he would turn up at the embassy. "It was a walk-in in the truest sense of the word," she said.

She declined to say why he chose the U.S. Embassy or whether he may have feared for his safety.

"I'm going to let him speak to his motives," she said. "He has now asked to go The Hague. That's a good thing we're trying to facilitate."

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Gouby reported from Goma, Congo. Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi in Dakar, Michelle Faul in Johannesburg and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

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US: Congo warlord Ntaganda turns himself in

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — A Congolese warlord accused of conscripting child soldiers who had lived as an international fugitive for years surrendered to the United States Embassy in Rwanda on Monday and asked to be transferred to the International Criminal Court, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said.

The move marks a major advance in efforts to prosecute Bosco Ntaganda, who had become a symbol of impunity in Africa as he played tennis and lived in an upscale villa in eastern Congo despite the international warrants for his arrest.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that Ntaganda walked into the U.S. Embassy in Kigali on Monday and asked to be transferred to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands. She said the U.S. was consulting with the Rwandan government.

"We want to facilitate that request," she said. "We strongly support the work that the ICC is doing to investigate the atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And we are going to continue to work with the ICC on this matter."

The ICC first indicted Ntaganda in 2006. However despite that warrant, he went on to become a general in the Congolese army, living freely in eastern Congo.

The ICC has no police force and has to rely on member states to detain those it indicts. Congo failed to apprehend him for years, and the United States is not a member.

"If he's actually handed over to the International Criminal Court or a court that would prosecute him, that would be a huge step forward in the fight for justice in eastern Congo," said Carina Tertsakian, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch.

The allegations against Ntaganda date back to crimes allegedly committed a decade ago in northeastern Congo. However, human rights groups say he has been implicated in other attacks on civilians in eastern Congo during his time as a fugitive.

News of Ntaganda's surrender first came in a Tweet and later in an official communique from Rwandan Foreign Minister and government spokeswoman Louise Mushikiwabo.

While Ntaganda was long believed to have enjoyed Rwanda's support, his relationship with the country where he was born has been unclear ever since his rebel movement split into two different factions earlier this month.

It was unclear why Ntaganda choose to surrender, and to turn himself into the U.S. embassy, after years at large, though the split within his group may have left him more vulnerable. The move comes days after Ntaganda's ally Jean-Marie Runiga was detained by Rwandan authorities. The leader of a rival faction within the M23 movement at the time vowed to go after Ntaganda next.

The news of Ntaganda's surrender was hailed by Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende.

"We are confident they will hand him over to justice," he said of the U.S. officials in Kigali.

Nicknamed "The Terminator," for his ruthless actions, Ntaganda was born in Rwanda in 1973, and moved to the neighboring nation of Congo as a teenager.

He was first indicted in 2006 by the International Criminal Court for conscripting and using child soldiers during his time as a senior commander in a Congolese rebel group accused of terrorizing the Ituri region of eastern Congo between 2002 and 2003.

He later joined and rose through the ranks of a different rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People, which signed a peace accord with the Congolese government on March 23, 2009.

That accord paved the way for Ntaganda and his fellow rebels to join the ranks of the regular Congolese army.

Then last spring, he and his men began defecting from the Congolese army by the hundreds, claiming that the government had failed to uphold their end of the 2009 deal.

They started a new rebellion, dubbed the M23, in honor of the March 23 signing of the now-defunct 2009 accord. And in November last year, the rebel group marched into and seized control of the provincial capital of Goma.

Ntaganda's exact role in the M23 rebellion remained murky. Human rights groups accused him of leading it, while other M23 leaders attempted to distance themselves from the fugitive general.

Rights groups on Monday called for Ntaganda's swift prosecution.

"Bosco Ntaganda is not called 'The Terminator' for nothing. The U.S. should immediately hand him over to the International Criminal Court for trial," said Sasha Lezhnev, senior analyst for the Enough Project in Washington, who closely follows Congo. "This would send serious signals to current and future warlords who continue to perpetrate atrocities in eastern Congo."

In Congo, Henri Bora Ladyi, who works at the Conflict Resolution Center which helps demobilize child soldiers, including some who fought in Ntaganda's rebel army, said: "It's a relief, but justice must be done. We fear that he will be kept in Rwanda and won't be extradited. Now what is important is to create space so that children in the M23 can leave the movement."

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Gouby contributed to this report from Goma, Congo. Associated Press writers Rukmini Callimachi and Krista Larson also contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal.

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Congo says agreement not likely with rebel group

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A peace agreement between the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group remains uncertain just days before a negotiation deadline expires, Congo's government spokesman said Monday as fighting continued in the country's troubled east.

The rebel group believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda, overran the major, eastern city of Goma last November in a humiliating blow to both the Congolese army and the international peacekeepers stationed there, who stood by as the rebels marched in. The columns of fighters retreated weeks later under intense international pressure, warning they would retake the city if Congo failed to meet their demands.

M23 rebels and the government have been hashing out an agreement since December, and were supposed to sign an accord by Friday. All of that has been thrown into doubt following a split in the rebel movement two weeks ago, after a dispute between the commanders of M23.

"Everything needs to be finalized by March 15. That's the president's wish. But we don't know if we will be able to sign by then," government spokesman Lambert Mende told The Associated Press. "We need a counterpart — and it's difficult to identify one at the moment."

The movement's military leader, Gen. Sultani Makenga, dismissed the political head of the movement, Jean-Marie Runiga, in February. Both men then formed their own factions which have been fighting since. Runiga's faction is said to be allied with Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, who is nicknamed "The Terminator" and is wanted by the International Criminal Court.

On Monday, Makenga's faction attacked Runiga's in an attempt to regain positions lost following the split. Sustained fighting around the area of Rumangabo took place between 9 a.m. and noon, according to fighters on both sides.

"We are at war," said Col. Vianney Kazarama, spokesman for Makenga's faction.

Following the split within the rebel group, the Congolese army retook some of the hills near the Goma airport. Runiga's faction controls Kibumba, which is the next town to the north. Further north is the Rumangabo area and the nearby village of Rugari, which the two sides are now fighting to control. Makenga's base in Rutshuru is beyond that area.

"Since 9 a.m., we've been fighting Bosco's troops in Rugari, but we are now stopping our advance to allow troops who want to defect to our side to join us," said Maj. Fred Ngenzi, who is with Makenga's faction. Because of the fighting, he added: "I think Friday is a bit early to sign an agreement with the Congolese government."

Runiga's faction claims it is the only one entitled to negotiate with the Congolese government since the leader of the M23 delegation for negotiations, François Rucogoza, is still loyal to Runiga. Talks are ongoing in Kampala, the capital of neighboring Uganda.

Runiga's faction also accuses Congo's government of trying to sabotage negotiations by helping Makenga's faction in the fighting.

"We cannot accept this and stand idle. Makenga is a renegade," said Col. Seraphin Mirindi, spokesman for Runiga's faction. "We are in Kampala, but there is an unwillingness from Kinshasa to negotiate. At some point we will have to react."

The M23 rebellion began in April 2012, when hundreds of soldiers defected from the Congolese army. They belonged to a previous rebellion that was integrated in the army following a peace deal signed on March 23, 2009. The rebels claim that the deal was not respected by the Congolese government.

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Congo: Airplane crashes in eastern city of Goma

GOMA, Congo (AP) — A plane crash in the eastern city of Goma has killed 36 passengers, according to Congolese officials.

A Fokker airplane of the private airline CAA was carrying 40 people and only four people survived, said Goma's mayor Naasson Kubuya.

The plane was flying from Lodja in East Kasai Province in the center of the country. The aircraft crashed in the center of Goma, near the electoral commission's building, but it did not hit any people on the ground, he said.

"The pilot managed to avoid houses," said Kubuya. "It's a horrifying accident. The city of Goma has become a field of disasters. We sympathize with the families of the deceased."

Last year, a plane crash in the city of Bukavu killed President Joseph Kabila's personal adviser, Augustin Katumba.

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Mwanamilongo contributed from Kinshasa, Congo.

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Congo troops give key towns back to M23 rebels

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congolese government troops gave control of two key eastern towns back to the M23 rebel group to avoid jeopardizing the ongoing peace process, a spokesman for the military said Sunday.

Kiwanja and Rutshuru had been M23 strongholds since the group had taken control of them in July 2012. But following a split within the rebellion last week, the armed group had left the towns to reinforce positions against the new splinter, and another rebel group moved in. The military then secured the towns on Friday.

"We couldn't leave the population alone, and we had to secure the area to make sure there were no crimes committed," said Col. Olivier Hamuli, the military spokesman. He said they've since given control back to M23.

"Our troops left Rutshuru and Kiwanja to avoid taking a step back regarding the evolution of the negotiations in Kampala," he said, adding that they are now only one kilometer (mile) from Kiwanja.

Government forces cannot take back M23 territory as negotiations as mediations are ongoing, according to an agreement reached in November at the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Uganda.

"The M23 signed an agreement with the ICGLR and the Congolese government after we took Goma in November. The government troops had to leave our territory because Rutshuru and Kiwanja are in our territory,"said Col. Vianney Kazarama, the spokesman for one of the M23 factions led by Gen. Sultani Makenga.

M23 is a rebellion allegedly backed by Rwanda and Uganda. In November, after eight months of sporadic fighting against the national army, the rebels took the strategic city of Goma, but withdrew two weeks later under international pressure.

Since then, negotiations between the M23 and the government have been held in Kampala, but no serious outcome has yet been announced.

The group split on Wednesday following a dispute over leadership. The president of the movement, Jean-Marie Runiga, was dismissed by Gen. Makenga, the military leader of the movement. Runiga left with the second strongman of the M23, Gen. Baudoin Ngaruye and Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Both factions have been fighting each other since, creating a power vacuum in the M23 stronghold. Following the Congolese army handover of Rutshuru and Kiwanja to Makenga's faction, Runiga's faction issued a statement saying that the army should have given them the territory.

Runiga, in the statement, accused Makenga of being an ally of Congo's military.

The faction led by Ntaganda and Runiga, positioned on the road to Goma near Kibumba, had apparently attempted to take Goma on Sunday, but were pushed back by the U.N. peacekeeping forces, the U.N. mission in Congo said.

"We fired on Bosco Ntaganda's positions because they moved towards Goma. We told them to stop their movements but they resisted. We sent helicopters that fired on their positions. It was near Kibati," said Alexandre Essome, a spokesman for MONUSCO, the U.N. mission in Congo.

Runiga's faction could not be reached for comment on the attempt.

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Fighting between rebel factions in east Congo

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Fighting erupted in eastern Congo early Friday between two factions of the M23 rebel group, according to officials on both sides.

The new splinter of M23 led by President Jean-Marie Runiga attacked the main faction, led by Gen. Sultani Makenga ,in Chanzu, near the border with Uganda, around midnight, said Seraphin Mirindi, spokesman for the splinter of M23. The fighting with heavy and light weapons continued until about 5 a.m. Friday.

An estimated 23 people died in the fighting, according to an officer with the main part of M23.

Some 4,000 civilians fled the renewed violence for Uganda, said Lucy Beck, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency. The U.N. is bracing itself for a greater influx of refugees in coming weeks, she said.

The M23 divided into two groups on Wednesday over disagreements on negotiations with the Congolese government. The splinter group is lead by the M23 president Jean-Marie Runiga and Gen. Baudoin Ngaruye. The new group is reported to be aligned with warlord Bosco Ntaganda.

The main part of M23 is led by Gen. Sultani Makenga and is based in Chanzu.

The group split on Wednesday after Makenga dismissed Runiga as the head of the M23 political branch. Tensions have been high within the rebel group for several weeks over negotiations with the Congolese government.

The new rebel faction wants "to take back Goma. But we want to carry on negotiating with the government," said Col. Vianney Kazarama, who belongs to Makenga's faction, who said that Bosco Ntaganda is with the splinter group. "They have money and have recruited soldiers."

However, the new rebel faction denies that Ntaganda is with them or that they want to take back Goma.

Bosco Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity he allegedly committed in eastern Congo. The United States government recently placed a bounty of $5 million dollars for capturing Ntaganda alive, according to diplomatic sources. Since its creation, the M23 has officially denied having Ntaganda in its ranks.

The new fighting and the split in the M23 appears to have scuttled the rebels' negotiations with Congolese President Joseph Kabila's government. Those talks were taking place in Kampala, Uganda.

The new fighting between the two M23 factions has allowed the resurgence of other rebel groups in eastern Congo.

The FDLR, a Hutu armed group linked to the Rwandan genocide, has recently taken some towns in eastern Congo. Other local armed groups such as the Mai Mai Shetani and the Nyatura have also infiltrated the M23 territory.

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Associated Press Writer Rodney Muhumza contributed to this report from Kampala, Uganda.

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