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                       Congo Rebels Pledge to Leave Goma

   by VOA News

   Congolese rebel group M23 says it will withdraw its forces from the
   captured city of Goma, after meeting with the army chiefs of Uganda,
   Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo
   Rene Abandi, M23's director of external relations, told VOA Tuesday
   that the group's military chief has promised that his forces will leave
   Goma as soon as possible.  The rebels say the move is not being done
   under pressure, but rather as a sign of their willingness to hold talks
   with the government.
   Regional leaders, including DRC President Joseph Kabila, had demaned
   that M23 pull out of Goma by the end of Monday.
   The rebels seized the eastern city last week and have since taken the
   town of Sake to the west. The group has said it will topple the Kabila
   government.
   On Monday, U.S. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said she is
   concerned that what she called a "relatively modest" group of rebels
   was able to take territory in Congo, despite the presence of U.N.
   peacekeepers there. She said the U.N. troops, known as MONUSCO, were
   not able to do what they are mandated to do.
   U.N. peacekeepers in Goma gave up defending the city after Congolese
   soldiers withdrew last week.
   The United Nations has accused Uganda and Rwanda of giving support to
   M23, a charge both countries deny.
   Goma is located on the DRC-Rwandan border.  Rwandan President Paul
   Kagame was absent from a meeting of several central African presidents
   in Kampala on Saturday.
   M23 consists of former rebels who once were integrated into the
   Congolese army but deserted early this year, complaining of
   discrimination and poor treatment.
   The DRC government has tried for years with little success to pacify
   the east, where armed groups compete for control of the region's
   mineral wealth.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/congo-rebels-pledge-to-leave-goma/155
   3640.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/congo-rebels-pledge-to-leave-goma/1553640.html