Kinshasa: The leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebels on Sunday urged his fighters to lay down arms against army troops waging an offensive against them in the country’s troubled east.

 

DRC: BERTRAND BISIMWA, M23 LEADER HAS SURRENDED TO UGANDAN SECURITY. 169-bertrand-bisimwa

Bertrand Bisimwa

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The call came with the rebels on the back foot as DR Congo troops pounded hilltop positions where die-hard fighters have holed up after being forced from their last stronghold this week.

“We order all the forces of the Congolese revolutionary army to immediately end hostilities with the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” M23 president Bertrand Bisimwa said in a statement.

He said his aim was to “allow the continuation of the political process” with Kinshasa in a bid to end the insurgency rocking the long-troubled region since April 2012.

Bisimwa urged rebel chiefs to “ensure the strict observance of this order by elements under their command.”

His order came in the midst of fierce fighting in the mountainous region bordering Uganda, where the army on Sunday launched a fresh offensive against some 200 rebels who fled to the hills after their base in the town of Bunagana was seized on Wednesday.

“Fighting is continuing,” M23 spokesman Vianney Kazarama said shortly before the order to lay down arms.

“In any case it will be hard to pull us out of here. We are busy bombing (troops) who are making their way up the valleys.”

The sound of heavy artillery could be heard from Kiwanja, a town around 20 kilometres away from the fighting as army troops launched their assault on Sunday.

“We are pounding Mbuzi,” one of three mountains in eastern DR Congo where the rebels are hiding, General Lucien Bahuma told AFP by telephone earlier on Sunday.

“After the artillery we will send in the troops.”

A DR Congo captain, speaking anonymously, said the army was “claiming back the hills. There is shooting in the mountains of Ntamugena, Mbuzi and Runyonyi. The rebels are fleeing.”

The lush green hilly region has been rocked by heavy fighting for the past 10 days as army troops battle to stamp out the insurgency once and for all in the restive, mineral rich North Kivu province.

The clashes have forced thousands from their fields and homes, and aid agencies estimate some 10,000 refugees have streamed into Uganda.

Agence France-Presse