M23 Rebels Say Rwanda-DR Congo Ceasefire Deal Does Not Affect Them

The rebel group announced that they were not concerned by the call for ceasefire during the mini summit in Luanda and called for a "direct dialogue" with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as they were not present during the summit.

On Thursday the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group announced that they were "not concerned" about the joint mini summit in Luanda, Angola, during which leaders in the East African region asked the rebel group to halt attacks and withdraw from occupied areas.

It was the first ever joint mini summit between the East African Community and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Luanda, to focus on the Congo crisis.

"M23 has seen the document on social media... There was nobody in the summit (from M23) so it doesn't really concern us," Lawrence Kanyuka, a political spokesman for the M23 movement, told AFP.

"Normally when there is a ceasefire it is between the two warring sides," he added.

The Luanda summit concluded with the decision to cease hostilities in the DRC beginning on Friday evening by setting up a disarmament and cantonment of the M23 in Congolese territory under the control of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF).

“During the disengagement and withdrawal of the M23 to its initial positions, Kenya will deploy its contingents to Goma, then Bunagana, Rutshuru, Kiwandja," the mini summit communiqué reads. Bunagana, Kiwandja, and some sections of Rutshuru are currently under M23 control.

"The cessation of hostilities in general, and in particular, the attacks by the M23 against the FARDC and Monusco as of Friday 25 November at 6pm,” the communique added, referring to the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, as well as any other foreign armed groups on Congolese soil.

Should M23 refuse to withdraw their troops, the east African regional force will be deployed to force them to leave.

"If tomorrow at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT), or in the morning, the government doesn't attack us, we will still be there," said Kanyuka, who added that if they don't, the rebel group will choose to defend themselves.

"We are always ready for a direct dialogue with the Congolese government to resolve the root causes of conflicts," he said.

M23 is a group that was formed out of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) which was a rebel group fighting the DRC government from 2006 to 2009, both groups have formed claims that the Congolese Tutsi and other ethnic communities in north and south Kivu are suffering from discrimination.