Africa

African leaders failed on Monday to sign a U.N.-mediated peace deal aimed at ending two decades of conflict in eastern Congo, said a senior Congolese diplomat, who pointed to concerns over who would command a new regional military force.

(Reuters) - The United States and African leaders threw their full diplomatic weight on Wednesday behind a campaign to expel Islamist rebels from Mali, as French air strikes harried the al Qaeda-allied fighters in their strongholds.

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department is imposing sanctions against two leaders of Congo's M23 rebel group.  In a designation made public Tuesday, the U.S. government accuses Baudoin Ngaruye and Innocent Kaina of using child soldiers.  Ngaruye also was cited for targeting children through "killing, maiming, and sexual violence."

December 18, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – In a surprising turn of events, Sudan has announced a major breakthrough in talks with South Sudan, saying all obstacles facing the implementation of a border security deal they signed in September have been surmounted, but it is not clear whether the two sides managed to break the deadlock over Khartoum’s demands that Juba disarms the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N).

GOMA, DR Congo — UN peacekeepers have stepped up air and ground patrols in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following reports that rebels are again gathering around the key city of Goma, the UN said Monday.  The United Nations had confirmed that M23 rebels have moved into some positions away from Goma in breach of UN Security Council resolutions, United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky said.

ADDIS ABABA — Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to implement joint security arrangements.  But it is unclear how the two countries might suffer if they fail to put the arrangements into force.  Delegations of the Sudanese and South Sudanese Joint Political and Security Mechanism, or JPSM, met in Ethiopia on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of security agreements between the two countries.

December 11, 2012 (JUBA) - Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General on Tuesday announced the appointment of Maj. Gen. Delali Johnson Sakyi, as the new Force Commander for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The M23 movement presents a conundrum to youth in North Kivu. Promised bright, lucrative futures, some young Congolese citizens have joined in the ranks of these rebels. Then there are the citizens who strongly oppose the movement but remain critical of DRC President Kabila – yet this group isn’t necessarily blaming its peers who have chosen to join the rebels. All smoke and mirrors, or not, one thing is for sure: the M23 has shaken up the status quo.