The UN and US government on Sunday, January 13 gave their backing to the negotiations going on in Uganda.

The government of Democratic Republic of Congo and M 23 rebels on Friday, January 11, 2013 resumed peace negotiations in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, after a three-week break. According to Uganda’s Defence Minister and Chief Facilitator at the talks, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, the talks were due to resume the previous week but were delayed by the DRC government's refusal to agree to rebel demands to sign an official ceasefire.

The United Nations Security Council and US government yesterday, January 13, 2013 gave their go-ahead to the peace talks in spite of sanctions imposed against some of the rebel leaders by the UN last week, New Vision newspaper reported. Dr. Kiyonga said that the UN sanctions against the M23 rebel leaders would not affect the ongoing talks. The mediator revealed that they contacted the office of the UN Secretary General and the US government that had moved the motion for the sanctions before going ahead as a precaution to avoid breaking the sanctions.

Meanwhile, Congolese authorities over the weekend denied massing troops in preparation for renewed fighting as M 23 rebels claimed last week. The Daily Monitor newspaper of Uganda quoted an unnamed Kinshasa official as instead accusing M 23 fighters of stockpiling arms and reinforcing their frontline positions in eastern DRC. The official said while Congolese Armed Forces had remained in positions agreed by regional leaders that brokered the peace deal on Goma, the rebels had defied directives given by regional leaders by returning to Runyonyi and Chanzu, positions they held before June 30, 2012 when violence flared. A local civil society group corroborated the claim.