government's army in an effort to increase pressure on the rebel general to declare a lasting ceasefire. The dissidents announced the creation of the splinter group at a meeting in Goma attended by nine of the CNDP's leading commanders. Also, the meeting was attended by the Rwandan Chief of staff, significant in the fact that Rwanda had often been accused of using the CNDP as a proxy in the Congo. Nkunda was not present. Sources said that the splintering did not affect conflict in the country, as sporadic firefights continued. On January 21 MONUC and the Congolese government ran into disagreement again on the topic of the joint operation, coordinated by the Congolese army and Rwandan Defence Forces, that involved action against Rwandan FLDR rebels operating in the South Kivu province of the Congo. The Congolese and Rwandan forces barred press reporters and MONUC from interfering. As for Ntaganda's involvement, MONUC had no objection, which surprised some sources, given the ICC's ties to the UN. However, MONUC took a negative stance on Ntaganda's involvement. On May 12, the organization's peacekeepers first stated that they would not work with the nation's army if Ntaganda, the army's recently appointed deputy coordinator, was a part of it; later, they would revise their claim and announce that they would not work on any operation involving the former war criminal. This negative sentiment was finally scaled down to the point where MONUC stated that they would not "sit down and take a photo with Bosco Ntaganda." Capture of Nkunda Nkunda was arrested on 22 January 2009 after he had crossed into Rwanda. After unsuccessfully attempting to defeat the CNDP militarily, Congolese president Kabila made a deal with President Kagame of Rwanda to allow Rwandan soldiers into the DRC to uproot FDLR militants in exchange for Rwanda removing Nkunda. A military spokesperson said he had been seized after sending three battalions to repel an advance by a joint Congolese-Rwandan force. The force was part of a joint Congolese-Rwandan operation which was launched to hunt Rwandan Hutu militiamen operating in DR Congo. Nkunda is currently being held at an undisclosed location in Rwanda. Cease-fire On March 23, 2009, the CNDP signed a peace treaty with the government, in which it agreed to become a political party in exchange for the release of its imprisoned members. Joint Congolese-Rwandan operation against FDLR Over the weekend of 9/10 May 2009