Denounces that the rebel group M23 has not completed its withdrawal in the province of North Kivu
Jan. 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Félix Tshisekedi, has affirmed that Rwanda is responsible for “insecurity in the Great Lakes region” and has again criticized Kigali for its support for the rebel group March 23 Movement ( M23).
“The problem of insecurity today in the Great Lakes region is called Rwanda,” he said in the Davos Forum, while criticizing “certain belligerent neighbors” who “make it difficult” to stabilize the situation in the area.
Thus, he has accused the M23 of not completing its withdrawal in the areas of the North Kivu region (east) that it has taken in recent months despite the agreement for a ‘road map’ agreed in the Angolan capital, Luanda, between DRC and Rwanda, according to the Congolese news portal Actualité.
“A ‘road map’ was agreed upon that decreed a ceasefire and an immediate withdrawal of the M23, supported by Rwanda, with November 25 for the start of the withdrawal. The process was to be completed on January 15, but the M23 continues in certain towns seized from the DRC”, he assured.
Tshisekedi has reported that “despite pressure from the international community, the group makes it appear that it is withdrawing and redeploying in other areas”, before accusing the rebels of “committing a massacre of innocents” in the city of Kishishe for ” force the population to move from the locality, rich in precious materials”.
The words of the Congolese president have come after local media pointed out that the M23 had withdrawn on Monday from Nyamilima, located in North Kivu, about ten days after breaking into it.
After that, the leader of the political arm of the M23, Bertrand Bisimwa, highlighted in his account on the social network Twitter that “of all the parties involved in the Luanda communiqué, the M23 is the only one that applies the recommendations made, while others parties act firmly and officially contrary to their obligations”.
The M23 has been accused since November 2021 of carrying out attacks against Army positions in North Kivu, despite the Congolese authorities and the M23 signing a peace agreement in December 2013 after fighting since 2012 with the Army, with the support of United Nations troops.
The situation has led to an uptick in tensions between the DRC and Rwanda. United Nations experts affirmed in a recent report that the Rwandan authorities maintain a “direct intervention” in the African country through their support for the group.
