---
title: "Congo rebels leave strategic town ahead of planned Doha talks"
description: "April 4 (Reuters) - Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have withdrawn from the strategic town of Walikale, describing the move as a goodwill gesture ahead of planned peace talks with the government next week."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Congo conflict"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-04-congo-rebels-leave-strategic-town-ahead-of-planned-doha-talks/"
published: "2025-04-04T12:13:38"
updated: "2025-04-04T12:13:39"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 309
---

# Congo rebels leave strategic town ahead of planned Doha talks

> April 4 (Reuters) - Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have withdrawn from the strategic town of Walikale, describing the move as a goodwill gesture ahead of planned peace talks with the government next week.

By Reuters · Published 4 April 2025, 14:13 SAST · Updated 4 April 2025, 14:13 SAST

## Key points
- In a dramatic power play, M23 has turned eastern Congo into a high-stakes game of musical chairs, seizing its two largest cities while the world watches with bated breath for the next move in a potential regional showdown.
- M23 has rapidly captured eastern Congo's two largest cities, resulting in thousands of deaths and mass displacement.
- Concerns grow over a potential regional conflict as Uganda and Burundi deploy troops in the area.
- Direct talks between Congo's government and M23 are set for April 9 in Doha, amid ongoing tensions.
- Humanitarian crisis deepens in Walikale, with Doctors Without Borders warning of dwindling medical supplies due to violence.

## Content

M23 has seized eastern Congo's two largest cities in a swift advance since January that has resulted in thousands of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes.

The fighting has raised fears of a [wider regional war](https://www.reuters.com/graphics/CONGO-SECURITY/MAPS/movaykzaava/), as Congo's neighbours Uganda and Burundi also have troops in the region.

Congo's government and M23 plan to hold their first direct [talks in Doha](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL6N3QF0N4&linkedFromStory=true) on April 9, sources from both camps told Reuters this week.

Situated along a road linking four eastern Congo provinces, Walikale is in an area rich in minerals including tin.

M23 pledged to withdraw from Walikale last month but initially failed to do so, accusing the Congolese army of going back on its own commitments and not withdrawing [attack drones](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N3Q70CN&linkedFromStory=true).

Two residents and a local official confirmed to Reuters this week that they had left the town. Army spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge told Reuters on Friday that Congolese troops were there, confirming M23 soldiers had left.

"If the forces of the Kinshasa regime continue their provocations or attacks on civilians in the liberated areas and on our positions, this gesture of goodwill will automatically be cancelled, and we will eliminate the threat at its source," Lawrence Kanyuka, spokesperson for the rebel alliance that includes M23, said in a statement on X on Thursday.

Doctors Without Borders said this week that civilians, along with its own teams, had been trapped by the violence in Walikale and that essential medical supplies would soon run out there.

The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to the ethnic Tutsi-led M23.

Rwanda has denied backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Barbara Lewis)