Congo Rebels Leave Strategic Town Ahead of Planned Doha Talks
BY REUTERS.
Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have evacuated from the crucial town of Walikale, claiming the move as a goodwill gesture ahead of next week's scheduled peace negotiations with the government.
M23 has captured eastern Congo's two main towns in a quick assault since January, killing thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands more.
The violence has sparked fears of a larger regional conflict, as Congo's neighbors Uganda and Burundi have soldiers in the area.
Walikale is located along a road that connects four eastern Congo provinces. The area is rich in minerals, notably tin.
The Congolese government and M23 intend to hold their first direct talks in Doha on April 9, according to insiders from both sides.
Walikale, located along a road that connects four eastern Congo provinces, is rich in minerals, especially tin.
M23 promised to leave Walikale last month but initially failed to do so, blaming the Congolese army for breaking its own promises by failing to withdraw assault drones.
Two residents and a local official confirmed to Reuters this week that they had fled town. On Friday, army spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge confirmed to Reuters that Congolese troops had arrived and that M23 members had left.
"If the forces of the Kinshasa regime continue their provocations or attacks on civilians in the liberated areas and on our positions, this gesture of goodwill will automatically be cancelled, and we will eliminate the threat at its source," Lawrence Kanyuka, spokesperson for the rebel alliance that includes M23, said in a statement on X on Thursday.
Doctors Without Borders reported this week that civilians, as well as its own teams, had been trapped by the fighting in Walikale and that critical medical supplies would soon run out.
According to the United Nations and Western nations, Rwanda sent arms and troops to the M23, which is led by ethnic Tutsis.
PHOTO COURTESY
Tags: M23 Rebel Felix Tshisekedi Paul Kagame
