The Democratic Republic of Congo's army on Saturday (December 24th) called
the withdrawal of M23 rebels from a strategic town near Goma (east) a "
decoy ", saying the rebellion was strengthening its positions elsewhere.
The rebels of the M23 group have conquered in recent months large swaths of the territory of North Kivu, a Congolese province bordering Rwanda, progressing to a few tens of kilometers from Goma.
"
The disengagement announced with pomp
" by the rebels of the M23 "
supported by the Rwandan Defense Forces is a decoy and a simple advertisement to distract the Congolese and the international community
", affirmed the armed forces in a press release.
Read alsoMassacre in the DRC: at least 131 civilians killed by the M23, according to a preliminary investigation by the UN
Under international pressure, the rebels took part in a ceremony on Friday to hand over the town of Kibumba to a regional East African Community (EAC) military force.
A spokesperson for the rebellion announced that it had agreed to “
hand over its positions in Kibumba to the responsibility
” of the EAC force in order to make a “
gesture of goodwill (...) in the name of peace.
»
But according to the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo, "
all the units disengaged from Kibumba, instead of returning to their initial positions of Sabinyo (...) take another direction to reinforce the positions of Tongo, Kishishe and the Bambu
with the intention of occupying territory west of Goma.
The army also referred to clashes which broke out on Friday in Virunga National Park between armed forces and rebels.
The DRC has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting the M23, allegations denied by the neighboring country.
A report by independent experts working for the UN Security Council, seen by AFP on Thursday, refers to Rwanda's supposed support for the M23 group.
Kigali deployed troops to fight alongside the rebels and supplied them with arms, ammunition and uniforms, according to the report.
Several diplomatic initiatives have been launched in an attempt to ease tensions.