What does m23 want

The advances by the Congolese army follow changes in the military structures and the intervention of a brigade of UN troops with a tough mandate. Africa Today podcasts. News in Kinyarwanda. UN mission in DR Congo. Understanding DR Congo. The M23 fighters targeted government and judicial officials, Congolese army officers and their families, human rights activists and civil society leaders, people who resisted looting or forced recruitment into the M23, alleged common criminals, and suspected members of groups such as the Mai Mai militia that are perceived to oppose the M When they did not find him, they shot and killed his colleague instead.

In a separate incident, they shot dead a 4-year-old girl when she asked M23 fighters where they were taking her father. On November 20, M23 fighters abducted an ethnic Hunde mechanic, 23, in the Ndosho neighborhood of Goma.

After checking his electoral card, used as identification in Congo, they accused him of being a Mai Mai combatant, which he denied.

The next day, his family found his body on the hill, along with four other corpses. They told Human Rights Watch the M23 had tried to put military pants on him, on top of the jeans he was wearing, apparently to make him look like a combatant.

But the pants did not fit him so his jeans were still visible. What kind of liberation is that? The night after they officially withdrew from Goma, on December 1 and 2, the M23 attacked a camp for displaced people just outside Goma.

They raped at least 13 women living in the camp and looted dozens of huts, victims and other camp residents told Human Rights Watch. They also abducted over a dozen young men and forced them to transport looted goods out of the camp. Under an agreement between regional leaders in late November, the M23 was supposed to withdraw to a distance of 20 kilometers from Goma. However, it has retained a position less than 5 kilometers away, and local residents reported as recently as January that they had seen known M23 members infiltrated in Goma wearing Congolese military or police uniforms, or civilian clothes.

Since the start of the M23 rebellion in April , M23 fighters have been responsible for deliberate attacks on civilians, summary executions, rapes, and forced recruitment of children. Bosco Ntaganda, sought on arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ituri, northeastern Congo, 10 years ago.

Ntaganda and other senior M23 commanders are responsible for some of the worst atrocities in eastern Congo over the past two decades, as they moved from one armed group to another. By eluding arrest and justice at The Hague, Ntaganda has remained free to be implicated in new crimes, Human Rights Watch said. Makenga said that two M23 fighters had been arrested and detained for having shot at a civilian in Rutshuru.

Many of the rebels say they want to remain in Rwanda. The camp is in Ngoma, far from the border with DR Congo. All four are under UN sanctions. Rebels in DR Congo. Image source, AFP. The M23 has been DR Congo's most active group until it was defeated in November Made up mostly of ethnic Tutsis, like Rwanda's leaders US and other donors have cut aid to Rwanda, accusing it of backing the M23 Rwanda denies the charges At least 10 other armed groups still operate in eastern DR Congo They often make money by controlling the trade in the region's minerals such as gold, tin and coltan, used in mobile phones.

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 Democratic Republic of Congo covers 2,, square km of land in the centre of Africa, making it the 12th largest country in the world. With an estimated population of DR Congo has around ethnic identities with the majority of people belonging to the Kongo, Luba and Mongo groups.

DR Congo has abundant mineral wealth. This wealth however has attracted looters and fuelled the country's civil war. Related Topics.