The March 23 Movement (M23), a Tutsi rebellion defeated in 2013, has in recent months come to control a large part of the territory north of Goma, capital of North Kivu province.
The most advanced rebel position is located in Kibumba, which is 20 kilometers from Goma.
On 23 December, the rebels and their military leadership met with East African Community (EAC) regional force commanders with a view to their withdrawal from all villages around Kibumba.
The next day, the DRC Army classified the withdrawal announcement as a "bait" and since then, no effective withdrawal movement has been signaled.
A resident of Kibumba, cited by the Agence France-Presse on the cover of anonymity for security reasons, said that "the M23 continues" both in that city and in Buhumba, as do members of the military force sent by the EAC.
The source said that the rebels abandoned the "positions of Kamahoro and 'Three antennas'", about three kilometers from the center of Kibumba and that the majority of the population fled, with some, after returning, returning from there again.
Two other sources, two farmers who stayed Saturday in the center of Kibumba, also said that "the M23 is still going on", specifying that they even built a health center for their medical care.
One of the two men claimed to have had a brief exchange with the rebels: "They asked me why I was leaving Kibumba".
DRCongo accuses Rwanda of actively supporting the M23 and fighting alongside it, with relations between the two neighboring countries falling to the level of total mutual distrust.
Several diplomatic initiatives were launched to try to resolve this crisis, namely by Angola, as mandated by the African Union, and the current deployment of the East Africa Regional Force, led by Kenya.
