M23 rebels pull out of Goma

(1 Dec 2012) SHOTLIST
1. UN military police car next to a truck carrying M23 rebels as they prepare to leave Goma, chanting
2. M23 rebels with MONUSCO (United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) peacekeepers walking towards central bank building
3. M23 rebel with RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) walks towards truck
4. M23 rebels chanting from top of truck before leaving Goma
5. Truck with rebels preparing to leave
6. Wide of truck with M23 rebels leaving headquarters in Goma
7. Goma residents watching rebels on truck stuck in traffic
8. M23 rebels stopping for supplies on their way out of Goma; one walks past camera and pushes down the lens to stop filming
9. Residents of Goma walking and two men on motorcycle amongst rebels preparing to leave
10. M23 rebel carrying belongings towards truck
STORYLINE
Rebels believed to be backed by Rwanda completed their retreat from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) city of Goma on Saturday less than two weeks after taking control of the strategic city.
Trucks full of M23 soldiers were driving out of Goma on Saturday morning.
The rebels left in a matter of hours and in an orderly fashion, carrying rifles and ammunition.
Some of the trucks also carried mattresses and even a generator.
Goma's residents have denounced the M23 rebels for looting several small shops and houses.
UN peacekeepers were also posted along the road out of Goma.
Ugandan Brigadier Jeffrey Muheesi, who is part of a mission sent by regional leaders to oversee the rebel retreat, said the pullout was complete on Saturday.
The M23 rebels took the capital of North Kivu on November 20, after battling the DRC army for nearly a day.
The group had defied two earlier ultimatums to leave Goma, raising the possibility they did not intend to leave and giving credence to a UN report accusing Rwanda of using the rebels as a proxy to annex territory in the mineral-rich east.
The eight-month-old M23 rebellion is led by fighters from a now-defunct rebel group, who agreed to lay down their arms on March 23, 2009, in return for being allowed to join the ranks of the national army.
M23 takes its name from the date of that accord.
The rebellion began in April, when hundreds of soldiers defected from the military, saying that the terms of the accord had not been respected.
In fact, most analysts believe the origin of the rebellion is a fight over DRC's vast mineral wealth, a good chunk of which is found in the North Kivu province where Goma is the capital.
Starting this spring, the fighters seized a series of small towns and villages in North Kivu, culminating with the capture of Goma, a population hub of 1 (m) million and a key mineral trading post.
The rebels will now settle in Kibati, a mere 15 kilometres ( 9 miles) from Goma in the coming days and 600 DRC army soldiers will move into Goma alongside a neutral force made of troops from the countries that are a part of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.


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