Kinshasa - Congolese President Laurent Kabila's government decreed a general amnesty yesterday for rebels waging an 18-month armed campaign and people jailed on security charges.
The Justice Minister, Mr Mwenze Kongolo, said on state television that Mr Kabila signed the decree on February 19th in an effort to foster national unity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He first offered a general pardon last July but the rebels, who are backed by Rwanda and Uganda, dismissed it out of hand.