Rwanda: M23 Rebels Withdraw From Rumangabo Military Base

Calvin Odur/UNHCR
(file photo).
6 January 2023
The New Times (Kigali)
By Moise M. Bahati

The M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo on Friday, January 6, pulled out of Rumangabo military camp in North Kivu province and handed it over to the East African Community regional force.

This is the second time the rebels are pulling out of their previously captured territory in a bid to prove their willingness to give ongoing regional peace efforts a chance.

Rumangabo, the largest base for the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) in North Kivu, was captured by the rebels in May 2022.

ALSO READ: M23 withdraws from Kibumba positions

The pull-out from Rumangabo, comes after the rebels gave up control of Kibumba town on December 23. Kibumba is now also controlled by the regional force.

"We are submitting Rumangabo to the EAC force to show our willingness to respond to the decisions of Heads of State in the region," Col John Imani Nzenze, an M23 representative, was quoted saying on Friday during the handover of Rumangabo.

ALSO READ: We want Kinshasa to choose peace over war - M23 rebels

On Wednesday, Lawrence Kanyuka, the M23 political spokesperson, said the withdrawal from their positions was in respect of the resolutions of the Luanda summit of regional leaders in November 2022 and in support of the peaceful efforts.

Kanyuka said the rebels expect the Congolese government to initiate peace talks in order to end the conflict.

Read the original article on New Times.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2023 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.