M23 Rebel Group Withdraws From Strategic Position In Eastern DR Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) M23 rebel group on Friday announced it has decided to withdrawn from a strategic front-line position as part of a ceasefire brokered by East African regional leaders, reported The Africa News.

In a statement on Friday, the rebels announced that they would withdraw from their position in the town of Kibumba, located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Goma, which the M23 briefly overran during their first big insurrection in 2012.

The M23 stated it was handing Kibumba over to the East African Community’s military force as a goodwill gesture in line with recent peace talks in Angola’s capital Luanda. It urged the Kinhasa authorities to grab the opportunity and also work to bring peace to the country.

“The M23 withdrawal and subsequent takeover of East African Community Regional Force in areas under their control is a positive indicator that the agreed upon strategy of restoration of normalcy in eastern DRC are on course, challenges therein notwithstanding,” the East African Community Regional Force said in a statement on Friday.

The pull out follows heavy international pressure on the M23 rebel movement to lay down arms.

The Tutsi-led rebel group re-emerged late last year and has since advanced across the country’s troubled North Kivu province. Frequent attacks by the rebel group have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee from their homes.

The DRC has accused its neighboring country Rwanda of backing the group, something which Kigali denies. Rwanda has also been excluded from a regional peacekeeping contingent, to which Burundi and Kenya have already sent troops. Talks between the DRC and Rwanda in the Angolan capital Luanda unlocked a truce agreement on November 23.

Under the deal, the M23 was asked to lay down arms, and then pull back from occupied territories. The rebels, however, remained in their positions.