Congo’s president says he’ll create a unity government as violence spreads

By Jean-Yves Kamale

Congo’s president says he is going to launch a unity government, as violence spreads across the country’s east and pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis.

On Saturday, in some of his first statements since Rwandan-backed rebels captured major cities in eastern Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi, told a meeting of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition not to be distracted by internal quarrels.

“I lost the battle and not the war. I must reach out to everyone including the opposition. There will be a government of national unity,” said Tshisekedi. He didn’t give more details on what that would entail or when it would happen.

M23 rebels — the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control and influence in eastern Congo — have swept through the region seizing key cities, killing some 3,000 people. In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern