Many students marched peacefully on Monday in the city of Goma, in North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to protest against the inaction of the Regional Force of the African Community of the East (EAC), faced with the advance of the M23 rebellion which continues to annex localities under its control.
Coming from different higher and university institutions in Goma, these students were able to reach the provincial governor’s office where they handed their memorandum to the governor’s spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Njike Kaiko, in order to transmit it to the governor.
The march did not register any incidents, unlike other demonstrations organized a week ago to demand the departure of the EAC force.
Coincidentally or not, the EAC sent a statement to the media on Monday relating to the decisions taken at the meeting of the Chiefs of Staff of the Community Defense Forces, held in Nairobi on February 9th.
This meeting decided to set February 28 as the date for the start of the rebellion’s withdrawal from the areas it occupies. Concretely, this withdrawal will take place in three stages, over a period of one month. From February 28 to March 10, the rebels should liberate Kibumba and Rumangabo as well as the localities recently taken on the Sake-Butembo axis; then will come the central areas of North Kivu and the areas around the Virunga Park, from March 13 to 20; and finally the localities of Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Bunagana, from March 23 to 30.
The EAC Chiefs of Staff want to favor the path of dialogue to obtain this withdrawal, and in the hope of giving the warring parties the opportunity to find political solutions to the conflicts.
In the meantime, they demanded an immediate ceasefire by all parties. The coming weeks will show whether these various decisions are carried out on the ground.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1045 of 13/02/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
