Saturday, 31 August 2013

South Africa warns M23



Meanwhile South Africa, which has troops in the UN force, has warned the rebels not to try to occupy Goma.

"We're trying to send a message to the M23: This time around you're not going to see Goma," Lieutenant General Derrick Mgwebi of South Africa's defence force said, according to the AFP news agency.
At least 800,000 people have fled their homes in DR Congo since the M23 launched its rebellion in April 2012.
They briefly occupied Goma in November 2012 before pulling out under international pressure.
The M23 rebel movement is named after a 23 March 2009 peace deal that ended four years of rebellion in eastern DR Congo.
The rebels complained the Congolese government had failed to honour the agreement, which included integrating them into the army.
The M23 are mainly ethnic Tutsis, like most of Rwanda's leaders.
Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by conflict since 1994, when Hutu militias fled across the border from Rwanda after carrying out a genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Source : BBC