Congo rebel pullback raises hopes for peace talks

By Finbarr O'Reilly

KANYABAYONGA, Congo (Reuters) - Hundreds of Congolese rebel fighters pulled back on Wednesday from frontline positions in a move U.N. peacekeepers hoped would open the way for talks on ending weeks of conflict in east Congo.

U.N. foot and air patrols were monitoring the withdrawal of renegade General Laurent Nkunda's Tutsi rebels from positions they had occupied after a rapid advance northwards in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern North Kivu province.

The pullback raised hopes for a lull in almost daily clashes between the rebels, the government army and local militias which have raged for weeks, driving hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes and creating a humanitarian emergency in the heart of Africa.

"Since yesterday evening they (the rebels) have been withdrawing. They are pulling back south on three axes, from Kanyabayonga towards Kibirizi, from Kanyabayonga towards Nyanzale and from Rwindi south," U.N. military spokesman Lt.-Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich told Reuters.

"Definitely, this is a good thing," Dietrich said. He estimated the withdrawing rebels "in the hundreds."

Witnesses travelling on the main north-south road through North Kivu on Wednesday said the rebels had moved their positions 33 km (20 miles) south away from Kanyabayonga.

Nkunda, who demands direct talks on Congo's future with President Joseph Kabila, ordered the pullback after meeting at the weekend with U.N. peace envoy former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. He pledged to respect a shaky cease-fire and take part in U.N.-backed peace negotiations.

The rebels pulled back south from territory they had taken, routing demoralised government troops, more than 100 km (60 miles) north of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma.