M23 rebels' vow to retreat at odds with hazy reality in DR Congo

M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo this week promised to retreat from a strategic position even as they conquered territories elsewhere, throwing confusion over the future direction of a year-long conflict.

A Tutsi-led group, the M23 has conquered swaths of territory in North Kivu province in recent months and advanced towards its capital Goma.

It first leapt to prominence in 2012 when it captured Goma, a city of more than one million people, before being driven out and going to ground the following year.

But the M23 re-emerged in late 2021 after the rebels claimed the Democratic Republic of Congo had ignored a promise to integrate them into the army, and went on to win a string of victories over state forces.

Under heavy international pressure to cease fighting, the rebels on December 23 delivered the strategic town of Kibumba to a regional military force, calling the move a "goodwill gesture done in the name of peace".

The M23 also pledged to hand over Rumangabo military base to the East African Community's military force -- which deployed late last year in a bid to restore stability in troubled eastern Congo.

Rumangabo, captured in November, is one of the major Congolese army bases in the region.

However, the reality of the M23's announced withdrawals on the ground is hazy.

In its statement the M23 said it had withdrawn from Kibumba despite reports to the contrary, and promised to hand over Rumangabo.