DRC’s M23 rebels say they will occupy places abandoned by exiting East African Community Regional Force (EAC-RF) troops from Eastern Congo.
A spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said there is ethnic cleansing in the area hence the need for them to occupy the areas.
“Following the departure of the EACRF from DRC, for the well-being of the civilian population, the M23 will recover and occupy all its areas that it handed over to EACRF at the beginning of the peace process,” said part of a statement by the group.
“The M23 calls upon the international community and humanitarians, to break their silence over the ongoing ethnic cleansing perpetrated by DRC government and the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Masisi.”
The statement thanked the troops for their work done so far.
Kanyuka said the M23 is committed to resolving the ongoing conflict in Eastern DRC and will not spare any effort to protect the civilian population and to defend itself professionally.
The EACRF troops began their withdrawal from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday morning.
EACRF said their mandate is peacekeeping and the protection of civilians while also supporting the political track on dialogue.
The UN estimates that there are between 300-500 rebel groups in eastern DRC fighting one another and against the central government, besides inter-and-intra-ethnic hostilities that have
The withdrawal came after DRC authorities refused to renew its mandate.
The East African Community (EAC) first deployed troops in the violence-plagued region in November last year after the resurgence of the M23 rebel group.
At the time, the Congolese authorities invited the EAC to deploy its forces to free the areas conquered by the rebels.
But the future of the deployment was thrown into doubt over the confrontation between Kinsansha over the modus operandi.
Following an EAC summit on November 25, the East African Community announced that the DRC "would not renew the mandate of the regional force beyond 8 December 2023".
Since its deployment, EACRF has been successful in preventing an imminent threat to Goma town, Goma International Airport, and enabled the withdrawal of M23 from areas close to Goma along Nationa Road number 2 and Provincial Road number 1030.
As a result, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 entered into a ceasefire agreement that has been held until it was breached in October 2023.
The Chief of Defence Forces Gen Francis Ogolla visited the troops on Saturday, December 2 and commended them for achieving significant milestones since their deployment in the Eastern DRC.