On the date of the deadline set for the total withdrawal of the M23 rebel movement in the DRC, Thursday, March 30, the group was still visible in large part of the province of North Kivu, of which it took partial control. In the roadmap to end the crisis, aimed at ending hostilities with the rebellion, supported by Rwanda according to the UN, there was also a ceasefire which is not currently applied. And the withdrawal deadline is now impossible to meet.
The rebels are currently still visible in large part of the province of North Kivu. They occupy several localities in Rutshuru and Masisi, even if positions have been handed over to the soldiers of the East African force, mainly to the Kenyan contingent.
In December and January, the rebels said they withdrew from Kibumba and Rumangabo, north of Goma. However, sources have regularly reported their presence in this area.
In recent weeks, they have left positions near Saké. This was also the case of Mweso in the North, but on Tuesday, the rebels were back in this locality where the Congolese forces had deployed. An attitude denounced by the military authorities of North Kivu.
The EAC Chiefs of Staff also acknowledged this situation on Friday during a meeting in Bujumbura. In the minutes of this meeting of March 23, they reduce this delay to the delay taken in the deployment of the Ugandan and South Sudanese contingents.