Rwanda-backed rebels in DRC declare a unilateral ceasefire

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — 

The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized eastbound Democratic Republic of Congo’s cardinal metropolis of Goma announced a unilateral ceasefire successful the portion Monday for humanitarian reasons, pursuing calls for a harmless corridor for assistance and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

The M23 rebels said the ceasefire would commencement Tuesday. The announcement came soon aft the U.N. wellness bureau said astatine slightest 900 radical were killed successful past week’s warring successful Goma betwixt the rebels and Congolese forces.

The metropolis of 2 cardinal radical is astatine the bosom of a portion location to trillions of dollars successful mineral wealthiness and remains successful rebel control. The M23 were reported to beryllium gaining crushed successful different areas of eastbound Congo and advancing connected different provincial capital, Bukavu.

But the rebels said Monday they did not mean to prehend Bukavu, though they earlier expressed ambition to march connected Congo's capital, Kinshasa, a 1000 miles away.

“It indispensable beryllium made wide that we person nary volition of capturing Bukavu oregon different areas. However, we reiterate our committedness to protecting and defending the civilian colonisation and our positions,” M23 rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said successful a statement.

There was nary contiguous remark from Congo's government.

The rebels' announcement came up of a associated acme this week by the determination blocs for confederate and eastbound Africa, which person called for a ceasefire. Kenya’s President William Ruto said the presidents of Congo and Rwanda would attend.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven precocious economies, oregon G7, urged parties successful the struggle to instrumentality to negotiations. In a connection connected Monday, they called for a “rapid, harmless and unimpeded transition of humanitarian alleviation for civilians.”

Congolese authorities person said they are unfastened to talks to resoluteness the conflict, but that specified a dialog indispensable beryllium done wrong the discourse of erstwhile bid agreements. Rwanda and the rebels person accused the Congo authorities of defaulting connected erstwhile agreements.

The M23 rebels are backed by immoderate 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, acold much than successful 2012 erstwhile they archetypal concisely captured Goma past withdrew aft planetary pressure. They are the astir potent of the much than 100 equipped groups vying for power successful Congo’s east, which holds immense deposits captious to overmuch of the world’s technology.

The latest warring forced hundreds of thousands of radical who had been displaced by years of struggle to transportation what remained of their belongings and fly again. Thousands poured into adjacent Rwanda.

The warring successful Congo has connections with a decades-long taste conflict.

M23 says it is defending taste Tutsis successful Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and erstwhile militias liable for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and others successful Rwanda.

Many Hutus fled to Congo aft the genocide and founded the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia group. Rwanda said the radical is “fully integrated” into the Congolese military, which denies the charges.

On Monday, families hopeless to place their loved ones besieged morgues arsenic assemblage bags were loaded onto trucks for burials successful Goma.

A weeping Chiza Nyenyezi recalled however her lad died from a gunshot wounded aft a slug went done his chest. "His full thorax was open,” Nyenyezi said.

Louise Shalukoma said her son’s assemblage could not beryllium instantly recovered from the streets due to the fact that a weaponry detonated arsenic radical tried to retrieve it.

“My God, my 4th child, erstwhile I saw that helium was dormant I said, ‘Lord, what americium I going to do?’” she lamented. “This M23 warfare came for maine successful Goma.”