part these are the top stories. kevin mccarthy's bid to become u.s. house speaker has become the longest in 164 years. after three days and 11 filled boats, republican is yet to secure enough of his party support. mccarthy can't convince a group of 20 hardliners to vote for him. john reports from capitol hill. john: this is either the definition of insanity, or perhaps eventually, an example of how practice makes perfect.

so far what we have seen has been all deja vu after three days and 10 vote, each of them with a humiliating result for kevin mccarthy who has dreamt of this moment for years. as the votes go forward tonight, it looks like mccarthy will probably like to call a pause in the voting, it just proves one humiliation after the other. >> volodymyr zelenskyy has dismissed a proposal by russian president for a truce. they wanted to correspond with the orthodox christmas holiday. president joe biden has unveiled a plan to allow people from hater, qb --, cuba, to enter the united states. un security council's held an emergency meeting over a recent development. israel's new security did -- it

angered palestinians by visiting the compound. a move that has been widely condemned. at least two people have been killed after violence erupted in northwestern mexico over the arrest of the son of notorious mexican drug lord el chapo. they say that he was taken into custody on wednesday night. and protests in the bolivian region of santa cruz have been ongoing for a week over the arrest of local government, luis fernando kremenchuk. over 500 trucks have blocked the roadway to demand his release. he was arrested by special forces last week. those are your headlines, news continues after inside story. stay tuned. ♪

go conflict has forced many people to leave the region. a u.n. investigation has a documented widespread human rights abuses. what are the prospects for a lasting peace? this is "inside story". ♪ oh, welcome to the program. i am laura kyle. hopes for peace or another false ? that's a people are asking where and 23 fighters have pledged to lead. that is a town with a large

military base in the east. the congolese army says a similar pledge to another strategic town in december hasn't happened. the m 23 group emerged more than a decade ago, conflict in the country has killed thousands of people. it was dormant for some time before returning a year ago, taking control of territory. hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee the violence and the u.n. says human rights abuses are widespread. rwanda is widely underserved to support the m 23,. patrick is -- he told al jazeera he believes the latest promised by m 23 forces to pullout will be fulfilled because of the extent of negotiations involved before hand. >> he is the one acting

[indiscernible] following our meeting and following -- all country starting in the united nations, united states, france, germany -- asking them to respect where they are going -- it is tough, that is the only way we can use those forces. laura: we will be discussing the prospect for peace with our guests in a bit. the hopes raised -- reporter: this is a very significant move. this military base we are talking about is very strategic. it had been taken over by m 23 rebels, they were using it for their logistics and operations.

and basically what has been happening is that the rebels have been withdrawing from some of the territories that they had been occupying. they say this is because of a goodwill that they want to show the government, they want to negotiate with the government. they are particularly want to go back to an agreement that was made several years ago which included integrating the rebels into the army now. we have spoken to government officials who are saying that this will never happen. other society groups say they are skeptical because on the one hand, m 23 rebels are saying that they are committed to withdrawing from these territories that they are holding. on the other hand, we also see

ongoing fighting, the government and militias that are aligned with the government. many people are saying that they -- people are still being displaced, people are running away from their homes, we spoke to a man who tried to go back to his home village but it was impossible for him to do that because of the security situation. though he had to go back. the situation is still very feuded. laura: estimates of the numbers who have been killed in violence since the late 1990's very, with some saying more than 5 million people have died. many groups have been engaged in fighting, notably the march 23 movement, or m 23. it is a rebel military group based in the eastern areas of dlc, mainly in the promise -- province of north kiku.

it's leadership is made up of the tutsi ethnic group. the aim is to fight groups founded by hutus who fled rwanda after the genocide in 1994. the rebels merged with the congolese army under a peace deal, but in 2012, the agreement had not been upheld and broke away. 120 other rebel groups also operate in the region. ♪ let's bring in our guest. jafar is a reporter based in democratic republic of congo, or drc. joining us from nairobi is a drc researcher. and phoenix, who is from the drc. he joins us from tilburg in the

never lens. -- netherlands. jafar, is the withdrawal of m 23 is a going to happen? jafar: we don't have much information on what is -- except the communication from m 23 and from the east african community. that and 23 is leaving the city today. as the eac in worn, we don't have much information at the moment. maybe later we will get it. believe in what is going on, because last time in december, they announced a withdrawal. the original [indiscernible] and media covered it.

then they decided to return back in their city, they found [indiscernible] people think this is a job with the people, m 23 is living in that occupied area. they are not moving for anything. laura: that is a strategic town. and in -- it is just a 1 hour drive. jafar: that is important. in the same province, it is the biggest military base. when [indiscernible] their biggest base, it was like someone who lost his city.

if m 23 will [indiscernible], this will be a big news. this is what the people are waiting for. they leave, they needed to leave, as people say. laura: felix, why would m 23 say that it is leaving these places at this point in time? felix: i think there is a coalition of folks that may make that happen. in recent weeks, we saw images of congolese officials meeting with the officia of the m 23. something that has been most of the time advertised as something that would not happen.

but, we see congolese officials and army commanders meeting with m 23. involved in some negotiations which are being kept more or less secret. we know that this was advertised by m 23. [indiscernible] -- third, in recent condemnations, especially towards rwanda supporting m 23. quite a number of coalitions -- that was drawn might not end up happening. with that in mind, that

[indiscernible] is one place. if i remember very well, [indiscernible] is occupied after an initial attack. two take over the territories -- m 23 -- in that sense, i think it was also [indiscernible] to have the capacity to occupy all of that territory. laura: whether or not m 23 actually withdraws from these areas, we must bear in mind that they have been defeated before. and they have lain dormant only to reemerge again. what is to say that is not going to repeat? >> that is actually a good

question. 10 years ago, m 23 captured goma. and then they withdrew from goma. before they were attacked and defeated militarily from other towns around goma. whether they withdraw or don't withdraw from these other areas, the question we have to ask ourselves is, why did they capture these towns in the first place? what has been solved? they have been calling for [indiscernible] negotiations. we continue to refuse to sit down with them. the rwanda communique, which is implementing by withdrawing from these towns, said they should go back to the areas around rwanda

where by november 2021. under explanation the government may consider engaging in talks. we are still far from that, because while they are with they withdrawing from the outskirts of goma, they are also capturing new cities and new towns in the north. near the border with uganda. at the end of the day, the question is really addressing the causes of m 23 and other armed groups in east. so far, we are extremely away from that objective. this includes, from our perspective, the necessity to address the endemic impunity for crimes committed. over the past 26 years.

but also making the ddr program work. and also addressing other concerns including local governance of land, natural resources, identity, and other issues. as long as these issues have not been addressed, they might withdraw. they could actually come back later on. laura: you bring up an awful lot of points there. let's pick up the point of impunity. hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by this latest fighting, horrific reports of rape and slaughter. this is abuse that people have suffered in this area for decades. why do these crimes happen with impunity?

>> it is a very complicated situation. because, first, they have had ethnic problems since a long time. the ethnic group is the militia, all force. m 23 has a rebellion which is supported by rwanda he is the enemy of all the militia in the region. so, there is no icon. many people still talk about the coalition of governments soldiers and militia. that coalition doesn't exist. there are some militias which are called local defense militias who are fighting against [indiscernible] to protect the own community.

it is not a good thing because -- fight against m 23 and against militias. this situation is also becoming complicated to the congolese government because during the nairobi talks, armed militia was invited, such as neon tour. i think that this withdrawal is a way to push the government of drc into negotiations. to the negotiation table with m 23. they are still fighting in other cities. yesterday, they took the [indiscernible]. the day before yesterday, m 23 was fighting in [indiscernible].

they are fighting in other places and they are living in other places. i think this is a [indiscernible] of m 23 to call the government to negotiate with them. laura: it also seems to be quite effective at not allowing the central government to take control in eastern drc. i wonder if that is part of the problem here. the government in contrast that is so far away and it simply doesn't have control over this region. it has imposed a state of siege since may 2021. a state of emergency in effect. and yet it still hasn't brought the situation under control. felix: every kind of [indiscernible] know that many of the problems we have been discussing we have been discussing over the last 20 years really have to do with the witness of congolese

institutions, including the central government in the first place. also the local government. the fact remains that you have all of this, m 23 or [indiscernible]. this has been simply incapable of a mac real violence that we know is the prerogative. beyond the monopoly is that the state has just been pretty much at the center and it has involved into [indiscernible] struggles. [indiscernible] has been on the peripheries, not just in the last 20 years, but when i look into academic work, even before.

because of this absence, as the last speaker justaid, you have this coalition of armed groups which fill the void. there is a lot of reports about how the government [indiscernible] as a policy or indidual kind of members. members within the army do supply weapons and sometimes [indiscernible] because of it is also about function. there is this issue, about people who don't belong, those are [indiscernible] a lot of the rwanda population are all strung together as being [indiscernible] and they have to get out of the country.

there has been quite a lot of acts of targeting specific communities, even members in other communities. with that in mind, this really has been part of the problem, except power, except control. protection, equal rights -- laura: to throw into that mix, the east african community is now going to send a regional force with troops coming from various other countries. is that a good idea? >> is it a good idea or a bad idea? i wouldn't be able to answer that question, at least from my perspective as a human rights organization. it is clear that there is no military response to the situation in eastern drc. the problem in eastern drc is

political and also in terms of human rights, aggressive impunity, which turns many people in the drc, but others in the region, in other countries that have been involved in the conflict in the drc for the last three decades. so, the problem being political, it should also be addressed politically. this doesn't mean these talks are useless like what we saw in nairobi, which seems like a joke. it has to be serious. identifying the real problems and dealing with them in by. because, in the past, we have seen political agreements signed , sometimes granting impunity for these criminals.

that has not allowed the situation to improve, either. while the solution should be political, mainly, it should also be taken more seriously. on military side, it is the states prerogative to use military force and even to invite foreign countries to intervene. as a human rights organization, [indiscernible] should be done in alignment with international law. whether it is the commonplace army or am 23 or the eastern african community of regional force, or even the u.n. peacekeeping mission, they all should abide by international law and prioritize protection. laura: on that note, we haven't

really touched on u.n. peacekeeping missions. it has been there since 1999, one of the world's largest and most expensive missions. why has it failed to keep the peace? >> the u.n. mission, i think they failed. because, they tried many times, but nothing was done. for sure, for the population. for example, in 1998, there was hundreds of army groups in the drc. nowadays, we have hundreds and more, and now people have a mistrust, i don't think they can

succeed anymore. because no one liked them in eastern congo. the local people say they all don't believe in the u.n.. i don't think they can succeed when locals doesn't trust in them. with the east african regional force, if it is different than what they have. since they came, there is not anything and military engagement from the east african community. the drc was [indiscernible] on that. because people thought that they come to fight, to engage against [indiscernible] and other rebel groups. now, they are talking and

[indiscernible] fighting still ongoing in territories and provinces. laura: we have run out of time, apologies for interrupting you. thank you all very much for joining us today. and thank you, too, for watching. you can see the program again anytime, that is al jazeera.com you can also go to our facebook page. you can also join the conversation on twitter, the handle is at a.j. inside story. from me and the whole team, by for now. -- bye. ♪ kxq#qqqcccwgcg/g'■axaxax1x1x4x4ñ

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