M23-controlled Goma is abandoned by defeated Congolese troops

The transfer of Congolese soldiers, who were defeated and have been sheltered at a UN base in M23-controlled Goma in eastern DR Congo, has finally commenced, with as many as 130 troops departing the city this morning.

“The first batch of 130 soldiers departed at 5:19 this morning,” a source at Goma airport, where at least 1000 FARDC troops sought refuge at a MONUSCO base when the M23 captured Goma in late January, informed The New Times on Wednesday, April 30.

The exercise is being organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross, in collaboration with representatives from AFC/M23, Kinshasa, and MUNUSCO, the UN peacekeeping force in the Congo.

The convoy of the withdrawing troops is moving northwards and is set to exit M23-held territory via Lubero, as per our source.

They are anticipated to travel to Kinshasa, the capital of the conflict-affected DR Congo.

The exercise had been delayed on at least two occasions in recent months, raising the potential for increased tensions.

The development follows closely on the heels of SAMIDRC, the pro-Kinshasa force deployed by the SADC regional bloc, initiating its withdrawal from Goma. This decision comes after the force and its coalition partners were unable to prevent the M23 from seizing the city in January.

In contrast to the SADC troops, the Congolese soldiers are retreating without their weapons, which have been confiscated by the AFC/M23.

Before the exercise, a team that included M23 representatives carried out a screening effort to locate the surrendered FADRC troops within the MONUSCO camp along with their weapons.

Numerous other defeated FARDC troops and allied militias capitulated to M23, with many opting to align themselves with the rebels.