By MELANIE GOUBY | Associated Press 1 hr 1 min ago
GOMA, Congo (AP) Congolese government troops gave control of two key
eastern towns back to the M23 rebel group to avoid jeopardizing the ongoing
peace process, a spokesman for the military said Sunday.
Kiwanja and Rutshuru had been M23 strongholds since the group had taken
control of them in July 2012. But following a split within the rebellion
last week, the armed group had left the towns to reinforce positions against
the new splinter, and another rebel group moved in. The military then
secured the towns on Friday.
"We couldn't leave the population alone, and we had to secure the area to
make sure there were no crimes committed," said Col. Olivier Hamuli, the
military spokesman. He said they've since given control back to M23.
"Our troops left Rutshuru and Kiwanja to avoid taking a step back regarding
the evolution of the negotiations in Kampala," he said, adding that they are
now only one kilometer (mile) from Kiwanja.
Government forces cannot take back M23 territory as negotiations as
mediations are ongoing, according to an agreement reached in November at the
International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Uganda.
"The M23 signed an agreement with the ICGLR and the Congolese government
after we took Goma in November. The government troops had to leave our
territory because Rutshuru and Kiwanja are in our territory,"said Col.
Vianney Kazarama, the spokesman for one of the M23 factions led by Gen.
Sultani Makenga.
M23 is a rebellion allegedly backed by Rwanda and Uganda. In November, after
eight months of sporadic fighting against the national army, the rebels took
the strategic city of Goma, but withdrew two weeks later under international
pressure.
Since then, negotiations between the M23 and the government have been held
in Kampala, but no serious outcome has yet been announced.
The group split on Wednesday following a dispute over leadership. The
president of the movement, Jean-Marie Runiga, was dismissed by Gen. Makenga,
the military leader of the movement. Runiga left with the second strongman
of the M23, Gen. Baudoin Ngaruye and Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the
International Criminal Court.
Both factions have been fighting each other since, creating a power vacuum
in the M23 stronghold. Following the Congolese army handover of Rutshuru and
Kiwanja to Makenga's faction, Runiga's faction issued a statement saying
that the army should have given them the territory.
Runiga, in the statement, accused Makenga of being an ally of Congo's
military.
The faction led by Ntaganda and Runiga, positioned on the road to Goma near
Kibumba, had apparently attempted to take Goma on Sunday, but were pushed
back by the U.N. peacekeeping forces, the U.N. mission in Congo said.
"We fired on Bosco Ntaganda's positions because they moved towards Goma. We
told them to stop their movements but they resisted. We sent helicopters
that fired on their positions. It was near Kibati," said Alexandre Essome, a
spokesman for MONUSCO, the U.N. mission in Congo.
Runiga's faction could not be reached for comment on the attempt.
Mambo
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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