DR Congo's M23 rebels pledge to retreat from key position
Democratic Republic of Congo Army soldiers gesture in this file photo at the foot of Chanzu hill, in the eastern North Kivu region that was one of the M23 rebels' last stands.
Feared Congolese rebel group M23 on Friday agreed to withdraw from its positions in Kibumba, 20 kilometres from Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, showing the first signs of thawing peace and respite for civilians.
The group, which had been for weeks asked to leave occupied territories by a regional leaders’ call, said they were preparing a withdrawal and cede ground to the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), deployed last month but which were awaiting on M23’s heeding of the ceasefire call.
In a statement, the M23 said it is handing over this part of the country to the East African regional force as a “gesture of goodwill, made in the name of peace, which is part of the recommendations of the Mini Summit of Heads of State held in Luanda, Angola on 23 November 2022.”
Lawrence Kanyuka, the political spokesperson of the movement who signed the statement added: “We hope that the Government of Kinshasa will seize this opportunity with both hands and also work to establish peace in our country.”
At the withdrawal ceremony on Friday in Kibumba, the commander of the East African Regional Force Major General Jeff Nyagah called on civilians who had fled the area to return. He stressed that the area is now secure.
"We are committed to conducting operations in accordance with human and international law. We are aware of the complexity of the area of operations, but our zeal and determination are intact," said General Nyagah who also added that everything will be done in "respect of the constitution of the DRC and the sovereignty of Congo".
For the M23, the decision to withdraw from Kibumba follows the conclusions of meetings held with the East African regional force and the Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism in the same locality on 12 December this year.
The decision comes hours after the release of a new report by UN experts that accuses the Rwandan army of having conducted military operations in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and of having supplied "arms, ammunition and uniforms" to the M23.
Since the Luanda mini-summit, held on 23 November between the DRC, Rwanda, Angola and regional leaders, it was decided that the M23 should withdraw from its positions; a ceasefire was also agreed.
The Kinshasa authorities, who had excluded the M23 from the peace talks, demanded the rebels' withdrawal before inviting them to negotiate.
