Abuja - The government and rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo have made a "major breakthrough" in meetings in the Nigerian capital, opening the way to full peace talks next month, the UN said yesterday.
Representatives of the DR Congo President, Mr Joseph Kabila, and the two main rebel movements at war in the country since 1998 agreed on who would be allowed to attend the talks in January in South Africa, the UN Assistant Secretary, Gen Ibrahim Fall, said.
"It went well," Gen Fall said. "The delegations were able to adopt positions on the participation of the different segments of Congolese society to the Inter-Congolese dialogue. With the adoption of that position the way is now open for the inter-Congolese dialogue to resume," he added. "This is a major breakthrough," he said.
The announcement followed three days of gruelling talks at the main UN office in Abuja between representatives of Mr Kabila, the Ugandan-backed Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) and the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD).