Congo General: "Now only war will bring peace"

As rebels prepare to withdraw from the border city of Goma, Congolese army commander Lieutenant-General Francois Olenga Tete says the the time for talk is over.

(SOUNDBITE) (French) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO ARMY CHIEF, GENERAL FRANCOIS OLENGA TETE, SAYING:

"There will be no more negotiations, because all these negotiations have not brought any solutions. Now only war will bring peace. Even in Europe they say whoever wants peace should prepare for war. Now we are really preparing for war."

His comments appear to fly in the face of international efforts to settle the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The remarks also come as rebels are packing up in Goma.

(SOUNDBITE) (Kiswahili) M23 MAJOR, DONALD GANEZI, SAYING:

"Today we are moving the munitions that the government left behind. There's quite a lot of it. We started almost a week ago transporting these munitions. This is the last… this is the last truck we are loading up."

A rebel pullout from Goma would signal progress in negotiating a peaceful end to the crisis. However the rebels, who many suspect are backed by neighboring Rwanda - have given no indication they were ending their eight-month insurgency.