Amid tangible progress in peace talks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda has called for an end to nearly 20 months of conflict between the Congolese army and rebels of the March 23 movement (M23).

“The chief facilitator (Uganda's Defense Minister Chrispus Kiyonga) has requested the warring parties to stop the fight and from yesterday up until this morning there's no fighting,” Reuters quoted Ugandan Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda as saying on Friday.

The Ugandan capital Kampala hosted a new round of peace talks on Wednesday, ten days after they broke over M23’s demands for amnesty.

Roger Lumbala, a senior M23 negotiator, said the rebels were ready to sign a peace deal if they receive an invitation from mediators.

“An agreement could be signed today according to the latest information we have from the facilitator. Nothing is blocking the signing,” Lumbala stated.

However, the Congolese army vowed to work for the elimination of all rebel groups.

“Talks have resumed at Kampala but we will continue to pursue the enemy. Our job is to eliminate all the armed groups in the region but we will start with M23,” army spokesman Colonel Olivier Hamuli said.

On Wednesday, the Congolese army said it had recaptured one of the last remaining strongholds of Rwanda-backed rebels.

Since early May 2012, nearly three million people have fled their homes in the eastern Congo. About 2.5 million have resettled in Congo, but about 500,000 have crossed into neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.

Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on since 1998 and left over 5.5 million people dead.