Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent-Desire Kabila has expressed willingness to hold talks with all Congolese, including rebels of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) “inside or outside the country”, AFP reported. In a joint statement with his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby yesterday, during a visit to N’djamena, Kabila said he was ready to “sign an immediate ceasefire and continue the process of democratisation ahead of general elections which would be both democratic and open”. According to the statement, both heads of state urged the international community to support this peace initiative by sending a peacekeeping force under the auspices of the OAU and the UN. Deby, who has sent some 800 troops to fight alongside DRC government troops, justified the intervention by saying Chad was helping DRC to find peace. “We will only leave the DRC when our mission has been achieved,” he told a news conference at the end of Kabila’s visit.
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