Congolese military's seizure of rebel stronghold seen as turning point

Congo's army was hunting rebels deep into forests and mountains along the border with Rwanda and Uganda, the last insurgent hideouts after they were driven from towns they held during a 20-month rebellion.

Ugandan mediators said talks had restarted on Wednesday in Kampala between the government and M23 rebels, but Kinshasa's UN-backed army appears on the verge of defeating the most serious uprising to plague the mineral-rich east since the end of the last major war a decade ago.

"We are going to pursue M23 and push them into a corner, wherever they hide, because they are criminals," Congo army spokesman Colonel Olivier Hamuli said. "We must not leave them time [to reorganise] because they have martyred the Congolese people for too long. Now is the time to bring peace."

M23 officials said they withdrew from towns under diplomatic pressure. Bertrand Bissimwa, M23's political leader, told French radio RFI that the military losses would not alter their demands in talks.

Clashes were reported in the hills above Bunagana, the last rebel-controlled town to fall this week, and around Runyoni, a hill that was the birthplace of the rebellion last year.

The rebel group's political leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, crossed from eastern Congo into Uganda on Wednesday, but the Ugandan army said he did not surrender. "He was coming to make contribution to peace talks," said Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda, a spokesman for the Ugandan military.

The Ugandan capital, Kampala, has been the scene of peace talks between the Congolese government and the M23. But those talks broke off last week and fighting resumed.