"Contrary to the rumors circulating that MONUSCO had given up a position to the M23 in the heights of Sake", it's really a false rumor, exclaimed Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike during a briefing given to the UN radio to refute this rumor according to which these soldiers from the UN mission supporting the FARDC in the operations against the M23 rebels would have withdrawn to cede this position to the rebels.
"You must understand that for the FARDC to maneuver freely, it was necessary for MONUSCO to give up this position so that we could have this freedom of maneuver", said Colonel Ndjike Kaiko. According to Radio Okapi, the spokesperson for the governor of North Kivu stated that this withdrawal was decided "by mutual agreement" with the Congolese army to facilitate operations.
But other sources, including AFP, note that the blue helmets left their defensive positions without the approval of their superiors.
Gisèle Mbuyi
North Kivu: MONUSCO peacekeepers did not cede their position to the M23, according to the FARDC.
InternetKinshasaPolitics - The Congolese army has denied the information, which it describes as a rumor, that the MONUSCO peacekeepers deployed in the vicinity of the city of Sake as part of the "Springbok" operation in North Kivu did not abandon their position in Kimoka to the benefit of the M23 rebels. "It is really a false rumor," reacted the spokesperson for the 34th Military Region, Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Ndjike Kaiko.