Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have withdrawn from the strategic town of Walikale, describing the move as a goodwill gesture ahead of planned peace talks with the government next week.
M23 has seized eastern Congo's two largest cities in a swift advance since January that has resulted in thousands of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes.
The fighting has raised fears of a wider regional war, as Congo's neighbours Uganda and Burundi also have troops in the region.
Congo's government and M23 plan to hold their first direct talks in Doha on April 9, sources from both camps told Reuters this week.
Situated along a road linking four eastern Congo provinces, Walikale is in an area rich in minerals including tin.
M23 pledged to withdraw from Walikale last month but initially failed to do so, accusing the Congolese army of going back on its own commitments and not withdrawing attack drones.
Two residents and a local official confirmed to Reuters this week that they had left the town. Army spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge told Reuters on Friday that Congolese troops were there, confirming M23 soldiers had left.
"If the forces of the Kinshasa regime continue their provocations or attacks on civilians in the liberated areas and on our positions, this gesture of goodwill will automatically be cancelled, and we will eliminate the threat at its source," Lawrence Kanyuka, spokesperson for the rebel alliance that includes M23, said in a statement on X on Thursday.
Doctors Without Borders said this week that civilians, along with its own teams, had been trapped by the violence in Walikale and that essential medical supplies would soon run out there.
The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to the ethnic Tutsi-led M23.
Rwanda has denied backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
An unknown projectile struck a tanker 68 nautical miles northeast of Saudi Arabia on Friday according to a report released by the United Kingdom Ma...
Nationwide protests are set to begin in France on Saturday with students, trade unionists and remna...
Uzbekistan welcomed 10.3 million foreign tourists in the first nine months of 2026, up 20.4 per cent year-on-year, as the Central Asian nation push...
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It comes after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people last week.
The Saudi-led coalition said early Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continuing from Russia and Ukraine as media reports say Ukraine has almost run out of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
France is preparing for a fresh wave of nationwide demonstrations this weekend as rising living costs, education concerns and growing political tensions converge into one of the most significant protest movements seen in the country in recent years.
Nationwide protests are set to begin in France on Saturday with students, trade unionists and remnants of the Yellow Vest movement expected to demonstrate against rising living costs amongst others.
European Union leaders wrapped up a summit in Brussels with agreement emerging on several key issues, including support for the automotive industry, trade tensions with China and financing for Ukraine.
What would you miss most after six months orbiting Earth, 400 kilometres above the ground? For astronauts, a familiar meal can offer a welcome taste of home. China is making that possible, bringing everything from dumplings to Kung Pao chicken to its space station.
A group of U.S. lawmakers is seeking to halt the Trump administration's agreement to purchase and import Russian diesel fuel, arguing that the arrangement would benefit Moscow financially while offering little relief to American consumers.
The Trump administration is once again searching for a new chief spokesperson after Katie Zacharia was removed as White House press secretary less than a week after taking the position, in what appears to be one of the shortest tenures in the history of the role.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment