Roundup: M23 rebels agree to pull out of Goma in eastern DR Congo
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E-mail Xinhua, November 28, 2012
The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed to heed to a directive from regional heads of state to pull out of Goma, the capital of the eastern province of North Kivu, the Ugandan military chief said here on Tuesday. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima told reporters at the Ugandan military headquarters in the capital Kampala that the M23 rebel leader in a meeting with him on Monday night agreed to pull out his fighters starting on Nov. 27.
He said the rebels will also pull out of Sake, another town they had captured.
The pullout would last 48 hours.
"Today by 12:00 (local time) M23 begins withdrawal from Goma to a selected ground of tactical importance while leaving a company of 100 at the airport." This withdrawal could be "completed within 48 hours," Nyakairima added.
He said as agreed upon by leaders of Africa's Great Lakes region on Saturday, the international neutral force would deploy 200 troops, while the Congolese army and the M23 would deploy 100 soldiers each.
He said the Congolese troops and police would protect the city.
On Nov. 30, all the military chiefs of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) would convene in Goma to evaluate the progress of the pullout by the M23, he said.
During the meeting with the M23, the rebels raised concern about a formal cease-fire agreement that had not been signed, according to Nyakairima.
They were also concerned about the logistics of their fighters to be left behind.
Nyakairima said he had communicated the concerns of the M23 to his superiors.
Region leaders meeting here on Saturday released a detailed pullout plan for the M23.
They said the rebels must move 20 km north of Goma and must stop all talk of overthrowing a legitimate government.
Meanwhile, they asked the Congolese government to address the concerns of the M23.
The full name of the M23 is the March 23 Movement, which refers to the date when peace accords were signed in 2009 between the Congolese government and the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), a rebel group.
Under the agreements, former CNDP fighters were to be integrated into the national army, but some of them say they were not treated fairly and that the peace treaty was never fully put into effect, forcing them to mutiny and form the M23.
Since fighting started between the M23 rebels and the Congolese government in April this year, more than 475,000 people have been internally displaced and over 75,000 others have been forced to seek refuge in neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
A leaked UN report accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23, while both countries have denied the accusations.
Recently, the rebel group has captured several towns in the eastern DRC.
The international community has called for an end to the conflict which is causing a humanitarian catastrophe in the region.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday urged the rebel outfit to lay down its arms and immediately pull its fighters out of Goma.
He urged the parties to build on the dialogue among the leaders of the Great Lakes region to address the fundamental causes of conflict.
Uganda, as the chair of the ICGLR, a body bringing together 11 member countries, has since July been mediating to help end the fighting.
DRC President Joseph Kabila on Saturday told journalists in Kampala that he would be happy if the different regional efforts bring peace to the eastern part of the Central African country. Endi
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