The Congolese army has regained control of the areas of Masisi and Rutshuru, in North Kivu province, which were occupied last week by mutinous soldiers loyal to renegade general Bosco Ntaganda. DR Congo’s Army Chief of Staff, General Didier Etumba, said in a press release on Sunday that military operations against the “undisciplined” soldiers have been suspended.

Contrary to wire reports widely circulated in the international media, President Joseph Kabila did not call for the immediate arrest of renegade General Bosco Ntaganda during a meeting with civil society leaders in North Kivu Province on Wednesday.

President Joseph Kabila held a two-hour meeting with army officers based in North and South Kivu provinces on Tuesday to insist on military discipline and cohesion.

President Joseph Kabila and the Congolese Army Chief of Staff, General Didier Etumba, arrived in Goma on Monday to deal with the security threat posed by the defections of former rebels integrated in the army under a peace deal.

The Congolese government said on Thursday that “irregular troop movements” have been observed in North and South Kivu Provinces since last weekend. The troop movements are believed to be a show of force by General Ntaganda amid renewed calls for his arrest after his former boss in the FPLC, Thomas Lubanga, was convicted by the ICC on March 14

President Kabila will rally supporters at Stade des Martyrs, while Etienne Tshisekedi has announced a rally in the capital upon his arrival at Njili airport. Vital Kamerhe will also hold a final rally at Stade Tata Raphael.

A judge in North Kivu province sentenced a UN driver and his accomplice on Wednesday to three years in prison and a US$ 25,000 fine for trying to smuggle minerals to Rwanda. There have been other cases of UN peacekeepers involved in gold smuggling and even accused of providing weapons to rebels in eastern Congo.

A United Nations employee was arrested in North Kivu province Sunday night while attempting to smuggle over one ton of tin ore to neighboring Rwanda, Congolese officials said on Monday.

President Joseph Kabila announced on Thursday night that he was suspending all mining operations around Walikale, North Kivu province, during a speech at a banquet in Goma attended by local authorities and representatives of the civil society.

Rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have been reported in the North Kivu region of Walikale, where they are, once again, conducting a terror campaign against the local population.