Rebels ignore deadline to leave Congo city

GOMA, Congo -- Rebels widely believed to be backed by Rwanda and Uganda held their positions in this key eastern city that they seized last week, letting a midnight deadline for their withdrawal expire in the early hours of today.

Trucks loaded with fighters belonging to the 8-month-old M23 rebel group patrolled the empty streets of this regional capital, as the ultimatum issued by the regional bloc representing nations in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa came to an end. Earlier in the day, the rebels announced they plan to move their headquarters to this city of 1 million later this week, another sign that they do not intend to respect the demands of mediators.

For the first time since the fall of Goma eight days ago, the Congolese government acknowledged that it had entered talks with the rebels, who handed Congo's military its most humiliating defeat since Goma was last overrun by fighters nearly a decade ago. The two sides were meeting in Kampala, the capital of neighboring Uganda. Yesterday, the head of the M23 rebels confirmed that he was en route to Uganda to join in the negotiations.

"We are still waiting to hear about the outcome of the meetings in Kampala. We should receive a document about it tomorrow. The president [of the M23] came back this evening. But given that we do not know what is asked of us we did not move out of our positions," said Bertrand Bisimwa, spokesman for M23's political branch.

As the deadline loomed, the Congolese military appeared to be regrouping in the town of Minova, 36 miles to the south, but they appeared disorganized and not in a position to launch an immediate assault on Goma. It has left residents on tenterhooks, worrying that they will be caught in the crossfire between rebel and government forces.

Congolese Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo confirmed that President Joseph Kabila had met in recent days with the rebels in Kampala. He said that the government is leaning toward "the avenue of dialogue and peace," suggesting that it is unlikely the military will try to take Goma by force if the ultimatum is not respected.

The deadline was issued by the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region on Saturday and gave the M23 rebels two days to retreat to 12 miles outside Goma. It expired at midnight Monday.

Tens of thousands of Congolese have fled to refugee camps for safety. Aid organizations struggled to provide them with food and supplies. When a rainstorm hit the Munguna-3 camp, about 7 miles south of Goma, children held out their hands to catch the water and drink it. They were quickly imitated by adults.