What is m23

The former Congolese army general, known as "the Terminator", then surrendered to the International Criminal Court to face trial in The Hague on war crimes charges. The end of the M23 would send an intimidating message to the other groups, raising hopes of an end to two decades of conflict, BBC Africa security correspondent Moses Rono says. Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by conflict since , when Hutu militias fled across the border from Rwanda after carrying out a genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The government says M23 military leader Sultani Makenga has fled. October offensive. Understanding DR Congo. Eastern DR Congo is awash with a variety of different rebel groups. This is a snapshot of their locations in late Some have come from neighbouring countries, while others have formed as self-defence groups. Many are taking advantage of the lack of a strong state to seize control of the area's mineral riches.

The rebels are named after a peace agreement they signed with the Congolese government on March 23, when they were fighting as part of a group calling itself the National Congress for the Defence of the People CNDP. The rebels belong to the minority Tutsi ethnic group and have close ties to the Tutsi in neighbouring Rwanda. Their rebellion began in April when they mutinied.

International human rights groups say M23 fighters have been responsible for widespread war crimes, including summary executions, rapes, and the forced recruitment of children. In March , following infighting between two M23 factions, Ntaganda turned himself in to the United States embassy in Rwanda and was extradited to The Hague.

The rebels say they started their rebellion because they were not happy with the pay and conditions in the Congolese army. Image Credit: Reuters. Email Address. Follow invisible. UN and African leaders had in the past urged the M23 — ethnic Tutsi former rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a peace deal — to declare an end to the rebellion they first launched in April , claiming that the government had not kept up its end of the deal.

Meeting in South Africa later on Monday, African leaders echoed the sentiment, saying that a peace deal for DR Congo could only be signed if the rebels declared an end to their insurgency. Analysts say the backing of the UN brigade and better preparation on the part of Congolese troops — along with an unprecedented UN mandate to launch an offensive — helped change the game in the country's restive east. UN forces were formerly authorised only to take defensive positions, which allowed the rebels to seize the upper hand, said Douglas Yates, an Africa analyst and political science professor at the American University of Paris, in an interview with FRANCE But earlier this year, the UN authorised a special brigade to take a more offensive posture in the DRC.

The FDLR has been present on Congolese territory since fleeing across the border from Rwanda in , after the Rwandan genocide of some , people.