{"id":52831,"date":"2025-02-04T07:49:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T07:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/m23-rebels-declare-unilateral-ceasefire-in-response-to-humanitarian-crisis\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T08:29:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T08:29:29","slug":"m23-rebels-declare-unilateral-ceasefire-in-response-to-humanitarian-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/m23-rebels-declare-unilateral-ceasefire-in-response-to-humanitarian-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"M23 rebels declare unilateral ceasefire in response to humanitarian crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an official communiqu\u00e9 issued a day before, M23 claimed that the ceasefire was in response to the \u201chumanitarian crisis caused by the Kinshasa regime,\u201d while reiterating its commitment to protecting civilians in areas under its control.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC\/M23) hereby informs the public that, in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Kinshasa regime, it declares a ceasefire starting February 4th, 2025, for humanitarian reasons,\u201d the statement read, signed by Lawrence Kanyuka, the Communication focal-point of the AFC.<\/p>\n

Addressing widespread concerns over its territorial ambitions, M23 denied having any plans to seize Bukavu, despite recent reports of its forces advancing toward the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt must be made clear that we have no intention of capturing Bukavu or other areas. However, we reiterate our commitment to protecting and defending the civilian population and our positions,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n

In its communiqu\u00e9, M23 also condemned the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) for what it described as continued aerial bombardments targeting civilian areas. The rebels criticized military operations conducted from Kavumu Airport, accusing FARDC of loading \u201cbombs that kill our compatriots in liberated areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, the rebels renewed their call for SAMIDRC to withdraw from the DRC, claiming that the regional peacekeeping force\u2019s mission is no longer justified.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge SAMIDRC to withdraw its forces from the DRC, as we have repeatedly stated that their mission is no longer justified,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

The ceasefire announcement comes ahead of an extraordinary regional summit scheduled in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where leaders from Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, and the DRC will meet to discuss the worsening crisis.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the United States has issued an emergency security alert, advising its citizens to leave Kinshasa amid fears of potential unrest, reflecting growing global concern over the conflict\u2019s potential to destabilize the broader region.<\/p>\n

\"M23<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The M23 rebel group, operating under the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), has announced a unilateral ceasefire set to begin on February 4, 2025, citing humanitarian concerns amid the escalating conflict in eastern DRC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":2000081073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-52831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000081073,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-246.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-246.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-246.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-246.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-246.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/profile-246.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000081073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52831"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=52831"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=52831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}