{{United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived on Thursday in Goma, eastern Congo, hours after a rebel group fighting government forces nearby said they would impose a cease-fire to allow the visit to proceed}}.
The M23 rebels and the Congolese army began fighting three days ago just north of Goma, ending a nearly six-month-long truce.
Last November the rebels handed both the government and the United Nations a humiliating blow when they succeeded in invading Goma, a city of roughly 1 million that is both strategically important and a major population center.
The rebels retreated 10 days later after intense wrangling by the international community, including diplomatic pressure on Rwanda, which is accused of arming and financing the rebels.
Rebel spokesman Amani Kabasha said by telephone that they had declared the cease-fire in order to not disturb Ban’s visit.
“We will not fight today to allow Ban Ki-moon’s visit to successfully take place. We also want to give peace a chance and ask the government to come back to the negotiating table in Kampala,” he said.
Ban arrived at Goma’s airport on Thursday morning, his second day in Congo after a visit Wednesday to the country’s distant capital, Kinshasa. There he met Congolese President Joseph Kabila, and promised that the international community would stand with Congo.
{wirestory}
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