Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have withdrawn from the strategic town of Walikale, describing the move as a goodwill gesture ahead of planned peace talks with the government next week.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.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels issued identical statements on Wednesday pledging to pursue peace after more than a week of talks in Qatar, where violence and mutual distrust dominated the agenda.
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Russian drone strikes targeted the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro late Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring around 50 others, according to local officials. And, a drone strike continues in Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast on Wednesday.
A satellite developed by British scientists and engineers is poised to become the world’s first to capture three-dimensional measurements of Earth’s forests from space.
Operation in Iran’s Shahid Rajaei Port in the southern city of Bandar Abbas is back to normal after firefighters put off the deadly fire which broke out on Saturday, customs authorities said.
Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) has approved a coalition agreement with the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU), securing the final step needed to form a new government under Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz.
Political directors from France, Britain, and Germany are scheduled to meet with Iranian officials in Rome on Friday, according to two diplomatic sources who confirmed the meeting to Reuters.
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