The M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday said it was not really concerned by the ceasefire announcement made in Luanda and called for a direct dialogue with the government, reported The TRT World.
On Thursday, Lawrence Kanyuka, a political spokesperson for the M23 movement, said they had no representatives at Wednesday’s mini-summit in the Angolan capital Luanda, they were not included in the accord.
“Normally, when there is a ceasefire, it is between the two warring sides,” Kanyuka added.
The M23 spokesman said the rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire in April and believed it was still in force.
“If tomorrow at 6:00 pm, or in the morning, the government doesn’t attack us, we will still be there,” he said.
Kanyuka said that the rebel group is always ready for a direct dialogue with the Congolese government to resolve the root causes of conflicts.
DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta attended a mini-summit in the Angolan capital on Wednesday. The Luanda mini-summit concluded with ceasefire deal in eastern DRC with effect from Friday evening.
In the ceasefire declaration issued by leaders from Rwanda, the DR Congo, Angola and Burundi said that under the cessation of hostilities, if the rebels did not withdraw from the area an East African regional force would launch an attack on them.
M23 rebels had been dormant for years but rose again late last year. The rebels recently seized large parts of territory north of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu province.
The Kinshasa government has refused to hold talks with the M23 rebel group, which it describes as a “terrorist movement”, as long as the group continue to occupy territory in DRC. DR Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels, who have been advancing on the regional capital, Goma. Rwanda denies involvement.
