M23 Rebel Group Confirms Withdrawal From Captured Villages In DR Congo

The M23 rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has confirmed that it has retreated from areas that it recently captured in clashes with government forces in North Kivu province, reported The BBC. The fighting displaced more than 100,000 people in the province.

Major Willy Ngoma, a spokesperson for the M23 rebels, told the BBC that “we have left those areas in order to make peace”.

The rebel group had advanced to about 20km (12 miles) from the provincial capital, Goma. As per the report, the rebels began withdrawing from Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories on Sunday and are being retaken by government forces.

It is not clear where they have retreated to. The UN-sponsored Radio Okapi has reported that they went to positions close to the border with Rwanda.

On Monday, government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya had ruled out the possibility of talks with the rebels, terming them terrorists.

“What would be the essence of talks with a terrorist group? There’s no more room for talks,” Mr. Muyaya said.

He added that the M23 must be resisted by military force.

The rebels’ spokesperson said the designation of M23 as a terrorist group made no difference.

“Calling us so is meaningless, it is only what they [government] think”, Major Ngoma told the BBC Great Lakes.

In April, the Congolese government excluded M23 from negotiations held in Kenya with dozens of rebel groups, accusing the group of staging hostilities just before the talks. The negotiations have not resulted in any decision yet and are scheduled to resume in Goma town.

The M23 rebel group continues to urge the DRC government to abide by the terms of its various agreements with it to end the war permanently.

According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), at least 170,000 civilians have been driven from their homes since last November due to fighting in eastern DRC.