Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered defence forces to begin preparations for a withdrawal of its troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a statement says.
The Malawian troops are part of a contingent of soldiers from a southern African regional bloc deployed in DR Congo to help it tackle armed insurgents.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) extended the military mission late last year.
“President Chakwera has ordered the MDF (Malawi Defence Force) commander to begin preparations for the withdrawal of Malawian troops … to honour the declaration of a ceasefire by the warring parties there and to pave way for their planned negotiations towards a lasting peace,” the statement said.
A rebel alliance, which includes M23 fighters, has declared a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons starting on Tuesday.
But M23 rebels seized control of the town of Nyabibwe in DR Congo’s South Kivu province, eight sources said on Wednesday – in an apparent violation of a unilateral ceasefire they declared this week.
The capture of Nyabibwe, 70km north of the provincial capital Bukavu, takes them a step closer to the city they said they had no intention of capturing after their advance southwards appeared to stall late last week.
Eight people including local officials, a civil society representative, rebels and an international security source, confirmed Nyabibwe had fallen to the rebels.
“There have been clashes since 5am, and it was at 9am that the town fell into the hands of the rebels. They’re in the centre of the town at the moment,” said a civil society leader, who like the other sources spoke on condition of anonymity.
DR Congo’s Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya told Reuters rebels had violated the ceasefire at night and were facing resistance from the armed forces around Nyabibwe.
A M23 spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
This advance could indicate a renewed push towards Bukavu that the M23 first launched after they seized Goma last week.
The capture of eastern DR Congo’s largest city has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and fanned fears of a wider regional war.
DR Congo accuses Rwanda of using the M23 to pillage valuable deposits of gold, coltan, tin and other minerals.
Rwanda says it is acting in self-defence and to protect ethnic Tutsis.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its medical warehouse in Goma had been looted between January 28 and 29 and that it would take months and require large investments to rebuild it.
“To continue caring for the wounded while we wait for our stocks to be replenished, we are being helped by other humanitarian actors in Goma,” the ICRC said in a statement.
In the capital Kinshasa, MPs were discussing possible solutions to the conflict ahead of a summit with eastern and southern African leaders in Tanzania this weekend, a politician from the presidential coalition told Reuters.
“President Tshisekedi has referred to parliament to get the proposals of elected representatives, which we assume come from the people … He wants to go into the matter with greater legitimacy,” the MP said.
MP from the National Assembly worked until early morning, two parliamentary sources told Reuters.
One of them said the extraordinary session should close on Wednesday afternoon.
A diplomatic source said one of the areas of dispute with Rwanda was the presence of troops sent by the 16-member SADC.
The regional bloc, which is helping the DR Congolese government fight rebel groups, extended its military mission late last year.
“Rwanda wants the SamiDRC (Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo) to leave, Congo wants it to be strengthened. This creates tensions between the countries of east and southern Africa,” the diplomat said.
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