Great Lakes: Pulling in this Congolese

When understanding overcomes the use of violence, encouraging glimpses emerge that invite us to reduce differences in the strategic region of the African Great Lakes…

guerrilla March 23 Movement (M23) He pledged to continue his orderly withdrawal from the territory he controls in eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo)which is an important decision for sub-regional détente.

The armed group met with former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediator for the conflict in This Congolese It dealt with aspects of the current conflict in eastern Congo.

This conflict ended in 2022 with hundreds of civilians killed and thousands displaced, and it is considered a fuse that is ready to be reactivated at any moment if funding issues are not resolved and has scope for all of the Great Lakes.

Kenyatta, met in the Kenyan city of Mombasa with representatives of the rebels, who promised, in addition to an orderly withdrawal, to strictly observe the existing ceasefire.

“They also agreed to continue respecting and cooperating with the East African regional force, which has begun to take control of the areas from which the March 23 Movement has just withdrawn,” the former president said of the outcome of the dialogue.

This stance on the rebels is fed into a delicate geopolitical picture in which the deterioration of the DRC’s border security is evident, as well as a spiral of serious diplomatic disagreements with Rwanda.

The Congolese authorities accuse Rwandans of supporting the March 23 Movement, which Kigali rejected, while denouncing the links between the Democratic Congolese Army and the dissolved Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which Kinshasa denies.

This is part of a bilateral debate that arose in 2013, when the rebellion – made up mostly of Tutsis – was defeated, but has gained steam in 2021 after demanding the government fulfill its commitments to demobilize its fighters.

Now: “As a pledge of good faith to work towards an agreement in North Kivu, the M23 leadership has agreed to continue its orderly withdrawal and adhere to a strict ceasefire,” Uhuru Kenyatta announced the guerrilla withdrawal.

In the early days of January, the March 23 Movement abandoned the Rumangabo military base, 35 kilometers from Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and its barracks, which it had occupied last October, but the faction has not yet left other locations.

The rebels returned military subordination on January 6 to the forces of the East African Group. Territorial Force (Eacrf), but they remained in the areas near Kibumba and Pohamba, raising suspicions about their intentions.

Some general sources even assert that the rebels extended their control over the places in the direction of Ishasha, a border post between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, which would tarnish their promises.

“In conclusion, we are facing a situation that is not entirely clear about the effective implementation of the (last) November agreements,” Loris Catani, the Xavier missionary, who knows the area, explained to the press.

While negotiation efforts progress in the complex region of Africa’s Great Lakes region in order to resolve the current conflict that threatens stability, obstacles to achieving peace remain.

In any case, the withdrawal of the March 23 Movement, although it is seen as a good start, is only part of the necessary behavior in a volatile scenario, in which wars and massacres have interacted since independence in the 1960s.