The guns have fallen silent in North Kivu, giving respite to civilians who have spent most of 2022 running for cover.
But the combatants are still raring to resume fighting if their bases are attacked, even if by a third party, something fuelled by comments by prominent civil society groups opposed to the deployment of the regional force.
A week after the M23 rebel group agreed to a ceasefire and moved out of Kibumba, handing it over to troops of the East African Regional Force (EACRF), the Congolese army (FARDC) declared that it remains vigilant.
The M23 announced that they would meet with EACRF at the weekend as part of its ongoing commitment to implementing the resolutions of the Luanda mini-summit, where leaders gave an ultimatum to the group to surrender occupied territories or be forced to.
On December 12, M23, FARDC, the UN Mission in Congo (Monusco) and EACRF met in Kibumba, North Kivu, to discuss the implementation of the resolutions of the Luanda summit, which brought Rwanda and the DRC to the table to accelerate de-escalation in Congo.
Source : The East African
