The rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) has withdrawn Tuesday from the town of Nyamilima, located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), nearly ten days after storming the town, according to local media.
Sources quoted by the Congolese news portal Actualité indicated that the withdrawal began on Sunday, after which members of pro-government armed groups and MONUSCO ‘blue helmets’ were able to enter the town on Monday.
The leader of the political arm of the M23, Bertrand Bisimwa, stressed on his account on the social network Twitter that «of all the parties involved by the Luanda communiqué, the M23 is the only one to implement the recommendations made, while other parties are acting firmly and officially contrary to their obligations».
The summit in Luanda was attended by the presidents of the DRC and Rwanda, Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, respectively, and a cease-fire and a process for the withdrawal of the rebels was agreed upon. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the group, something denied by the Rwandan authorities.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against Army positions in North Kivu, despite the fact that the Congolese authorities and the M23 signed a peace agreement in December 2013 after fighting since 2012 with the Army, which was supported by UN troops.
The situation has led to an upsurge in tensions between DRC and Rwanda. UN experts stated in a recent report that the Rwandan authorities maintain a «direct intervention» in the African country through their support to the group.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
