DR Congo army plans new attack on rebels after forcing retreat

M23 rebels sit on the back of a truck on June 1, 2013 in Rumangabo military camp, 40 km from Goma. By Junior D. Kannah (AFP)

RUMANGABO (DR Congo) (AFP) - The Congolese army is preparing a further offensive on M23 rebels, after having already forced them back to their mountain holdout near the eastern border with Uganda, an army officer said Tuesday.

The unnamed officer told AFP that the planned attack could take place "in the next few hours", while an officer from the UN mission MONUSCO said Congolese troops were in the process of "reorganising, replenishing supplies and fine-tuning plans".

After 36 hours of silence, the M23 published a statement on its website to say that the withdrawal was "in no way a sign of weakness", but a tactical retreat to Bunagana, the base of its political leaders.

Days after the collapse of peace talks in the Ugandan capital Kampala, fighting had erupted in the strife-torn, mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

After four days of fierce combat, MONUSCO chief Martin Kobler reported to the UN Security Council that "practically all M23 positions were abandoned, except for a small triangle at the Rwandan border".

"It is practically the military end of M23," Kobler said late Monday.

The Congolese army has the backing of forces of a UN intervention brigade of African troops with a special Security Council mandate to take the offensive against armed movements in eastern DR Congo.

However, Kobler's optimism was not shared Tuesday by Fidel Bafilemba, a researcher for the US non-governmental organisation Enough Project, who said that M23 is "capable of many surprises, even if it is pushed back beyond the borders".

The M23 rebellion was born of a mutiny in April 2012 by former mainly Tutsi rebels who had been integrated into the army in 2009 under a peace pact, but who later accused the Kinshasa government of reneging on the deal.

Kinshasa and the United Nations both accuse Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the M23, allegations that are strongly denied in Kigali and Kampala.

The past few days of renewed fighting has sparked international calls for restraint in a country wracked by successive civil wars and where hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes by the rebellion in the east.

'Let us live in peace'

Local transport was back on the road linking North Kivu capital Goma to the town of Rutshuru, 80 kilometres further north, which was cleared of M23 forces on Sunday. Minibuses and lorries carrying merchandise were moving in both directions.

A burned-out tank was left near Kibumba, 25 kilometres north of Goma. Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Hamuli, the military spokesman in North Kivu province, said the wreck was "the only tank taken by the rebels during the capture of Goma" in November 2012.

M23 was then at its height and occupied the city of one million people for 10 days before withdrawing under regional pressure.

About 100 local people, mainly women and children loaded with their belongings, were trudging back to Kibumba on Tuesday, now that the town was again fully controlled by government forces.

"I am happy to be going home. The war is over. We are going to live under the rule of the government again," Judith Bora, 29, told AFP, carrying her baby.

"Gone the rebellion, finished the harassment! We suffered with the rebels. We want the government to let us live in peace," said Elias Nzibonera, 30, who was leading his goats.

Another resident who had been among thousands to flee last Friday said that he had already returned home. "The situation is calm, there is no problem," he said by telephone.

South African President Jacob Zuma said Tuesday that the Congolese people had endured "untold suffering" for "far too long". South African troops are among those in the UN brigade. "Enough is enough, now is the time for peace," Zuma added in a speech to the Congolese parliament.