‘Rebels in eastern DRC still hold strategic positions’

Rebels in east­ern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were still holding stra­tegic positions on Thursday, the day M23 militants were supposed to leave under a regional peace initiative.

The withdrawal of M23 rebels is now going to take place this Friday, accord­ing to the commander of the EAC force.

“From Friday, Ugan­dan soldiers from the East African regional force will enter Bunagana and deploy to Kiwanja and this is part of the schedule that has been decided. “We have agreed that their first mission is to ensure the security of our popula­tion. And we ask all humani­tarian organisations to be able to deploy in all areas to help this population”, said General Jeff Nyagah, EAC Regional Force Commander.

Since June last year the town of Bunagana, a com­mercial crossroads on the Ugandan border, has been under rebel control.

“Customs are still closed and famine is getting much worse. Nothing works like it used to here. It’s good that these Ugandan soldiers are coming in, but we would like the Congolese government and the M23 to hold talks so that a solution can be found”, said Jean Muhire, a resident in Bunagana.

March 30 was supposed to mark the end of the with­drawal of “all armed groups”, according to a timetable adopted in mid-February by the EAC.

The M23 has announced its withdrawal from certain localities, but these announce­ments have been described as a “diversion” by the Congo­lese army.

The umpteenth ceasefire has not been respected, the United Nations (UN) Security Council calls for negotia­tions which Kinshasa rejects and Angola announces the sending of soldiers as 25 years ago despite intense activity diplomatically, the sky is not clearing up on the frontline of the M23 rebellion in eastern DRC.

Congolese government and diplomats say they still want to “give a chance” to the peace processes launched in Nairobi and Luanda, one of which aims to bring together around a table the many armed groups raging in the region, the other to silence the weapons of the M23 and to bring Rwanda closer to the Democratic Republic of Congo. —Africanews/AFP