The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has warned that the rebel group March 23 Movement (M23) maintains its plans to attack the city of Goma, capital of North Kivu province (east), and stressed that it would be a setback to the ceasefire agreement reached in Angola.
The Congolese Minister of Defense, Gilbert Kabanda, has indicated that the rebel group has «plans» for its offensive and has emphasized that «the Army remains on alert and determined to defend the integrity of the national territory», according to the news portal Actualité.
Kabanda’s affirmations came days after the Congolese authorities denounced that the rebels had not withdrawn from the locality of Kibumba, as they had announced they would do on Friday. «There has been no withdrawal of M23 rebels from the area,» said the head of the Kibumba grouping, Boniface Kishire, has indicated that «there has been no withdrawal of M23 rebels from the area.»
The DRC Army said Saturday that the M23 announcement «is a hoax and a publicity stunt to distract the Congolese and the international community», while again denouncing that the rebel group receives support from Rwanda, something denied on multiple occasions by Kigali.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
