Congo police scatter protesters denouncing slow M23 rebel pullback

Police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Congo’s eastern city of Goma on Wednesday who were calling on authorities to enforce an agreed withdrawal of M23 rebels from occupied territory in the region.
Regional leaders brokered a ceasefire in November under which the Tutsi-led group, which launched a fresh offensive lastyear, was meant to pull out of recently captured positions. The deadline for this was Jan. 15, according to Congo’s presidency.
But the M23 has been accused of flouting the deal and occupying territory elsewhere to compensate for withdrawals that critics consider to be mainly ceremonial. President Felix Tshisekedi made similar accusations on Tuesday.
Christophe Lutundula, Congo’s minister of foreign affairs, reiterated the accusations in a statement on Wednesday, saying M23 was still controlling access to the outskirts of Kibumba and Rumangabo, two towns they were supposed to have withdrawn from.