ETHIOPIA: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives commitments from Africa's Great Lakes countries to continue trying to end conflict in eastern Congo

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday (December 5) received commitments from Africa's Great Lakes countries to stick to previous promises to end a conflict in eastern Congo which risks spilling across borders. Rice was also critical of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declaration of victory after a U.S. intelligence report contradicted the Bush administration's charge that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon. At a news conference in Addis Ababa she said the Iranian situation remains "a problematic and dangerous" one. On her second trip to sub-Saharan African in two years, Rice met with the presidents of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, as well as a minister from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and listed three areas of agreement. They included the "rapid strengthening" of security forces in Congo, reiteration of a commitment not to "harbour negative forces" and a recommitment to previous agreements. But there appeared to be no concrete or new ideas on the table. Fighting has flared in the past few months in eastern Congo, which is roamed by various militias, including some linked to neighbouring countries. Washington wants all sides to deal with "negative forces", including the FDLR (Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda), made up of key figures in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, plus Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army and renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda. In her meeting with Somalia's new prime minister, Nur Hassan Hussein, Rice urged him to be more "inclusive" in pulling together his fragile government. Five Somali cabinet members have resigned, a day after being appointed to protest against what they said was their clan's under-representation in the government which is faced with divisions and an Islamist insurgency. Hussein said the meeting with Rice was very positive and his government would make it a priority to be "inclusive". Rice also raised concerns with the African Union Secretary General Alpha Oumar Konare over delays in deploying a U.N.-AU peacekeeping force for Darfur. She reiterated U.S. frustration at hold-ups by the Sudanese government in letting in the peacekeepers to resolve a conflict international experts estimate has claimed about 200,000 lives. The schedule for getting 26,000 peacekeepers into Darfur by year-end is months behind and Rice said she was pressing Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which have some influence over Bashir. Rice was set to have dinner with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to discuss Ethiopia's role in Somalia and the escalating border dispute with neighbouring Eritrea.

ITN Source | December 5, 2007

Tags:. .liberation. .influence. .rapid. .egypt. .declaration