M23 Rebel Forces ‘withdraw’

{{The M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has said it will stop fighting, following days of clashes with UN-backed forces.}}

M23 official Museveni Sendugo told media its forces had already pulled back 5km (three miles) from the frontline.

Rebel leader Bertrand Bisimwa said the pull-back would allow an independent investigation into how shells fell over the border in Rwanda on Thursday.

The Congolese army denies Rwandan accusations it fired the shells.

DR Congo and the UN accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, a charge it denies.

Their troops have been pounding rebel positions on the Congolese side of the border with Rwanda near the city of Goma since last week.

As tension escalated on Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Rwanda’s president for restraint.

Rwanda’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Olivier Nduhungirehe, told media, “a red line was crossed” by DR Congo on Thursday when he said a Rwandan woman was killed in cross-border shelling.

The M23 rebels, he said, were an “internal problem” within DR Congo, and the Congolese government “should not drag Rwanda” into the dispute.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo on Friday tweeted: “Rwandan troops are not in DRC (yet), when they are, you will know.”

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