By Reuters
A de facto ceasefire between Congolese forces and Rwandan-backed rebels in the eastern Congo town of Walikale appeared to have broken down on Monday, with the rebels going back on a pledge to withdraw and accusing the army of violating its own commitments.
The prospect of a ceasefire in the strategic town of Walikale, which the M23 rebels captured last week, had briefly fuelled hopes of reviving stalled diplomatic efforts to resolve eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest conflict in decades.
The conflict, rooted in the long fallout from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and competition for control of mineral riches, has led to rebel control of eastern Congo’s two largest cities, thousands of deaths and fears of a wider regional war.
But less than 48 hours after the rebels announced their intention to withdraw from Walikale and Congo’s army responded by saying it would refrain from attacking them, the
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