Mon, November 03, 2008
Renegade Congolese general Laurent Nkunda's men are celebrating.
The town of Rutshuru, lying just 90 kms (56 miles) from the regional capital Goma, is now theirs.
It's a different story for the people who live here.
Listening to the victory speeches in the town's stadium, fear and anxiety cloud the faces of the crowd, unconvinced about rebel assurances that the killing is over.
SOUNDBITE: Local farmer, Kavusa Magazine, saying (French) :
"We're not happy with these people, because they want to take power and destroy our democracy. What are they going to do for us?"
A fragile ceasefire between government forces and Tutsi rebels is holding but the crisis is far from over.
'The international community must not allow Congo to become another Rwanda' - Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned on Sunday.
The roots of the current conflict in Congo are deeply rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, where 800,000 people were slaughtered by Hutu extremists.
Diplomatic efforts are focused on persuading the two countries to implement existing peace agreements and disarming Hutu and Tutsi militias in eastern Congo.
The two leaders have, at least, agreed to meet some time soon - but the British and French Foreign Ministers, who are spearheading European peace efforts, say only concerted political action will avert a worse crisis.
David Miliband and Bernard Kouchner flew to Rwanda for talks with President Paul Kagame.
Despite the tough words, Europe is backing away from sending EU troops to the Congo to reinforce UN peacekeepers, who have proved incapable of protecting civilians.
The ministers said opening up an aid corridor to help the quarter-of-a-million-people who've been displaced in North Kivu province by recent fighting was vital.
SOUNDBITE: British foreign minister David Miliband saying (English):
"We look forward to the corridor, the humanitarian corridor, being opened tomorrow on the instructions of the head of MONUC."
On Saturday, the European envoys saw for themselves the dire humanitarian situation in eastern Congo.
The ministers were mobbed as they visited a camp for displaced people near the strategic town of Goma.
Aid agencies describe the humanitarian situation unfolding in the heart of Africa as catastrophic.
Helen Long, Reuters
