Scenes of soldiers in Democratic Republic of Congo
M23 rebel fighters walk as they withdraw near the town of Sake, some 42 km west of Goma November 30, 2012. A rebel pullback from Goma, seized by M23 from fleeing United Nations-backed government forces on November 20, would signal some progress in international efforts to halt the eight-month-old insurgency in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.GORAN TOMASEVIC/Reuters
M23 rebels withdraw from the Masisi and Sake areas in the eastern Congo town of Sake, some 27 kms west of Goma, Friday Nov. 30, 2012. Rebels in Congo believed to be backed by Rwanda postponed their departure Friday from the key eastern city of Goma by 48 hours for “logistical reasons,” defying for a second time an ultimatum set by neighboring African countries and backed by Western diplomats. The delay raises the possibility that the M23 rebels don’t intend to leave the city they seized last week, giving credence to a United Nations Group of Experts report which argues that neighboring Rwanda is using the rebels as a proxy to annex territory in mineral-rich eastern Congo.Jerome Delay/The Associated Press
M23 rebel fighters walk as they withdraw near the town of Sake, some 42 km west of Goma November 30, 2012. A rebel pullback from Goma, seized by M23 from fleeing United Nations-backed government forces on November 20, would signal some progress in international efforts to halt the eight-month-old insurgency in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.GORAN TOMASEVIC/Reuters
A soldier is seen in Congo.GORAN TOMASEVIC/Reuters
Children walk past M23 rebels in the eastern Congo town of Sake, some 27 kms west of Goma, Thursday Nov. 29, 2012. Rebels, who last week seized one of the most important cities in eastern Congo and advanced beyond, said Thursday that they had pulled back several kilometers to the town of Sake and were on track to leave the key city of Goma by Friday, in accordance with a deadline imposed by the international communityJerome Delay/The Associated Press
Near the town of Sake, 42 kilometres west of Goma, M23 fighters begin their withdrawal from the city in eastern Congo. But the rebels will leave their proxies in Goma: Local officials, informers and police officers who will ensure that smuggling routes for conflict minerals will remain open and will continue to fund the rebels and their commanders.JAMES AKENA/Reuters