Congo rebels' withdrawal from Goma 'purely tactical', say analysts

From Aid | The Guardian Mon Dec 3 2012, 12:24:13

Despite retreat by the M23, there's no sign that any of the major players are willing to act to stop the violence flaring up again

After much initial confusion, reports indicate that rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have finally withdrawn from the eastern city of Goma. This is, very tentatively, good news. Just a week ago, no one was quite sure whether the rebels intended to make good on their threat to march on the capital Kinshasa and overthrow the Congolese government, a move that could well have escalated into another regional war centered on the DRC.

This seems unlikely now. With a minimum of fuss, the rebels belonging to the M23 movement piled into trucks and retreated to a town 20km away from Goma (not before helping themselves to a few million dollars from the central bank, some weapons and a few nice new cars, according to some reports). Congolese police have arrived in Goma to restore the state's tenuous authority there, with soldiers due to follow shortly. The airport, the city's most important asset from a military perspective, will be guarded by 100 men each from M23, the Congolese Army, and the United Nations peacekeeping force, which has come in for so much criticism after its passive response to the crisis.

The withdrawal came after an agreement was reached last week at a conference in Uganda, where M23 representatives met with the Congolese government to discuss a way out of the conflict. Also present at the talks were senior officials from neighbouring countries, most notably Rwanda and Uganda. Both countries have been accused, with some degree of accuracy, of supporting M23's rebellion.

[view whole blog post ]
 See More    |     Report Abuse

People and Organizations:


You might also be interested in the following news stories:

Afrique Centrale:  Doha, l'autre processus de paix qui manque au puzzle RDC-Rwanda (news)
Radio France Internationale
5 July 2025

C'est l'autre pan du processus de paix qui tarde. Après la signature de l'accord entre la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et le Rwanda à Washington, le processus de ... [read more]

Afrique Centrale:  Est de la RDC - Pour Kagame, les négociations à Washington et Doha sont «les deux faces d'une même pièce» (news)
Radio France Internationale
5 July 2025

Ce vendredi 4 juillet, le président rwandais Paul Kagame a tenu une conférence de presse à Kigali. Le chef de l'État est notamment revenu sur l'accord de paix signé ... [read more]

Togo:  Tiny Togo Playing in a Big Arena (guest column)
allAfrica.com
4 July 2025

Behind last week's U.S-brokered peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo is a hidden storyline: Togo's quest to become West Africa's Rwanda. In Washington, Togolese Foreign ... [read more]



blogAfrica is allAfrica.com's platform to help you keep an ear on the African blogosphere. We draw diverse voices from around the world who post regularly and insightfully about African issues. Bloggers, submit your blog's rss-feed!