Congo, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda said on Tuesday he would extend his eastern guerrilla war to the capital Kinshasa unless the government agreed to political negotiations with him.
"If they refuse to negotiate, it will mean they will be ready to only fight and we will fight them because we have to fight for our freedom," Nkunda said at his hilltop headquarters in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern North Kivu province.
He told Reuters in an interview his next offensive would not stop at the North Kivu provincial capital Goma but would aim for Kinshasa, the national capital well over 1,500 km (950 miles) to the west.
Nkunda, who has said he is fighting to defend Congo's Tutsi minority but also demands a better government for the whole country, last week halted a major advance towards Goma that sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing from their homes.
Wearing a green beret and beige camouflage uniform and carrying a cane topped with a silver eagle's head, he said that if his offer of talks was not accepted by President Joseph Kabila, he would end a ceasefire in North Kivu.
"Goma is just a place to pass through ... When they force us to come down to Goma we won't stop there. People must be serious, otherwise there's no turning back," he said at his headquarters, located in rolling green highlands.
Congo's government has refused to negotiate with Nkunda since his most recent offensive and has accused neighbouring Rwanda of backing him, a charge denied by Kigali.
The United Nations is leading international efforts to try to arrange a peace summit between Congo and Rwanda and to solve the humanitarian emergency in the east of the former Belgian colony, which has rich reserves of copper, cobalt and gold. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/) (Reporting by Emmanuel Braun; Writing by Pascal Fletcher)
