M23 Rebels:
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels recently captured the regional capital Goma in an anarchic and mineral-rich part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- M23 Rebels or the March 23 Movement, is one of more than 100 armed groups fighting Congolese forces in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
- M23’s leadership is dominated by ethnic Tutsis, a minority group in eastern DR Congo.
- It is present in North Kivu province in areas bordering Rwanda and Uganda and has more than 8,000 fighters, according to the UN.
- It is named after the date in 2009 of the signing of an accord between the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), a Tutsi-led rebel group, and the Congolese government to end a revolt led by the Tutsi people in eastern DRC.
- The agreement promised better political representation and integration of former rebels into the Congolese army.
- It is alleged that Rwanda is backing the M23 rebels.
- M23 fighting Congolese forces was created in 2012 after former CNDP troops rebelled against the Congolese government, accusing it of failing to implement the 2009 agreement by integrating Tutsi fighters into the army, protecting minorities, and distributing resources evenly.
- Its objective is to safeguard the interests of the Congolese Tutsi and other minorities, including protecting them against Hutu rebel groups who escaped to the DRC after taking part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide that targeted Tutsis.
