The Congolese government Monday declined to sign peace deal with the M23 rebels meant to end 18 months of bloody civil war that displaced more than 100,000 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. According to dpa, the signing of the agreement was to take place in Uganda a week after Congo's army, backed by a 3,000-strong Special UN intervention brigade, defeated the M23 in a heavy battle. "The Congolese government declined to sign the agreement. The delegation refused to enter the room in which the M23 representatives were. They did not want to sit in the same room with the rebels," Uganda government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said. Opondo spoke to reporters at President Yoweri Museveni's official residence, 42 kilometres south-east of capital Kampala, where the signing ceremony was supposed to take place. "The Congolese government said that it wanted to clarify some issues," Opondo said.
