Congolese M23 rebels are seen as they withdraw from the 3 antennes location in Kibumba, near Goma, North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo on December 23, 2022.
The M23 has announced a ceasefire from February 4, citing “humanitarian reasons”.
In a press release, the rebel movement said the decision was taken in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. Following unrest in the cities of Goma and Sake, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply in eastern Congo.
According to the Congolese government, 2,000 bodies have yet to be buried following the massacre in Goma. There are also 2,800 wounded, said government spokesman Patrick Muyaya.
Goma has experienced something of a lull after the rebels claimed to have captured the first major town in North Kivu.
But Jacquemain Shabani, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Interior and Security, said, “Goma has not been taken by the rebels, it is occupied by the Rwandan army... There are entire areas and neighbourhoods where this army of aggression has not yet managed to gain access.”
However, in a recent interview with an international television station, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said he did not know whether the Rwandan army was in Congo.
According to DRC and UN reports, Rwandan troops are fighting alongside the M23, with the DRC government insisting that the solution to peace lies in the withdrawal of Rwandan troops. Kigali has repeatedly denied supporting the M23 rebels.
The M23 stepped up the pressure on South Kivu by engaging in fierce fighting which, according to the Congolese army, has cost the life of Colonel Rugabisha Alexis, the commander of the 12th Brigade of the Congolese army.
The commander was killed in combat on Sunday, "weapon in hand, after having driven back the enemy from Nyabibwe in South Kivu".
But the M23 have declared that they have “no intention of taking control of Bukavu or other localities”, adding that they “reaffirm our commitment to protect and defend the civilian population as well as our positions.”
In the region, as locally, peace initiatives are multiplying. On Monday, the Catholic and Protestant churches in the DRC met with President Félix Tshisekedi and presented a “crisis exit plan”. The Congolese leader has called an extraordinary session of the National Assembly and Senate to discuss solutions to the “crisis exit”.
The session opens on February 4.
Meanwhile, a new peace initiative is emerging in Algeria. Ahmed Attaf, the Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs, has brought together his counterparts from the DRC, Rwanda, Angola, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa to help find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the DRC.