M23 disarm after defeat

President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),Joseph Kabila.PHOTO|FILE   

By The citizen

In Summary

Meanwhile on Monday, African leaders went into talks to discuss the possibility of reinforcing a UN special brigade deployed in the DRC, as rebels there are forced onto the back foot.

Goma/Pretoria. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rebels – M23 Movement-- said yesterday they were laying down arms after a crushing defeat by the UN-backed Congolese army.

The rebels said in a statement it “decided from this day to end its rebellion” and instead to pursue its goals “through purely political means.”

The declaration ends the insurgency that for 18 months wreaked havoc in the mineral rich region that was one of the scenes of some of Africa’s deadliest conflicts over the past two centuries.

Earlier, Kinshasa claimed “total victory” over the M23 after capturing the last two hills held by the movement’s die-hard fighters.

“The last remnants of the M23 have just abandoned their positions,” said Mr Lambert Mende, the DRC Communications minister and government spokesman.

“It’s a total victory for the DRC,” he said, adding that the holdout insurgents fled to neighbouring Rwanda. “We have finished the job,” said Lieutenant Colonel Olivier Amuli, an army spokesman in the North Kivu Region -- the scene of the fighting.

Offensive against the rebels

The Congolese army launched a major offensive against the rebels on October 25, steadily claiming their strongholds until dozens of fighters were this weekend pushed onto three hilltops about 80 kilometres north of the regional capital Goma and near the border of Rwanda.

The beleaguered insurgents called for a truce, but the army pressed on with its assault, claiming one of the hilltops on Monday. The UN special force in the region, which had been backing the Congolese forces with aerial reconnaissance, intelligence and planning, joined direct combat late Monday after getting the green light to bombard the remaining positions of the beleaguered rebels.

“We will continue to fire until everything is under control,” said a source at the UN brigade.

With the rebels on the backropes, M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa had on Sunday called for a ceasefire to allow a resumption of peace talks.

But the fighting only appeared to intensify after the M23 leader’s appeal, despite a statement issued early Monday by envoys from the European Union, African Union and the United Nations that said they were “concerned about the renewed outbreak of violence” that followed the truce call.