BRUSSELS, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Regional delegates to a peace conference for the Democratic Republic of Congo said all parties to the conflict should exercise maximum restraint.
Delegates from the United States, European Union, African Union and the United Nations met last week in Uganda to discuss ways to bring security to the DRC.
Members of the March 23 Movement mutinied last year, complaining the government reneged in previous peace agreements in DRC. M23 is suspected of committing war crimes in its rebel campaign. It captured parts of eastern DRC last year before pulling back under the eye of U.N. peacekeepers.
"Against the background of renewed fighting between the M23 rebel group and the DRC military, we advanced our joint visit to the region to assist in the de-escalation of tensions in eastern DRC and the region," the peace envoys said in a joint statement Monday.
The special envoys for the Great Lakes region of Africa said it was time for rebel forces to lay down their weapons in exchange for peace.
Parties to the so-called Kampala Dialogue last week were called on by the envoys "to adopt a principled approach towards the issues of amnesty and reintegration."
The British government in August said it was pulling diplomatic staff out of parts of eastern DRC because of increased violence.
