KINSHASA, May 28 (NNN-Xinhua) — The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has decided to classify the March 23 Movement (M23) as a terrorist group, a DRC government spokesperson said.
“The M23 is now considered as a terrorist group and will be treated in the way (we treat the terrorists),” Patrick Muyaya said at a press conference after a national security committee session chaired Friday by DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.
Over the past few days, fighting has raged between the DRC army and M23 rebels in the DRC’s northeastern province of North Kivu, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
The M23 is a group of former rebels of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). The name came from the March 23, 2009, agreement between the CNDP and the DRC government.
The M23, which claims the DRC government had violated the 2009 peace deal, briefly seized Goma, capital of North Kivu province, in late 2012 before being pushed back by the army the following year. Since late 2021, the M23 has resumed fighting with the army in the region. — NNN-XINHUA
