Rebel soldiers advance in Congo

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  • Rebel soldiers advance in Congo

    http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/cong-n27.shtml
    By Ernst Wolff
    27 November 2012

    Rebel soldiers attached to the Movement M 23 are continuing to advance in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On November 20, they captured the city of Goma in the east and the following day the city of Sake. A representative of the rebels addressed an audience of 10,000 inhabitants in the main stadium in Goma, declaring that they intended to take the city of Bukavu in the near future and then advance on the capital city of Kinshasa in the west.

    The rebel militia M 23 was founded in April 2012 after a mutiny by about 700 soldiers. It consists largely of former members of the organization “National Congress for the Defence of the People” (CNDP), who belong to the Tutsi ethnic group. The CNDP was disbanded in 2009. Following the arrest of their leader, General Laurent Nkunda on March 23, 2009 (hence the name M 23), the soldiers were integrated into the Congolese army.