KINSHASA: M23 police and plain-clothed intelligence agents were still deployed Thursday in Uvira, local and security sources said, after the armed group announced it had begun withdrawing from the eastern DR Congo city.
After seizing the major cities of Goma and Bukavu early this year, fighters from the Rwanda-backed M23 group captured Uvira near the border with Burundi on December 10.
Its fall came days after the Congolese and Rwandan leaders signed a peace deal in Washington and the offensive drew sharp condemnation from the United States, which vowed “action” over the “clear violation” of the US-brokered accord.
The seizure of Uvira — a city of several hundred thousand people — allowed the anti-government M23 to control the land border with Burundi and cut the DRC off from military support from its neighbor.
On Wednesday, the M23 said it had begun pulling out from the city and called on “mediators and other partners to ensure Uvira is protected from violence, reprisals and remilitarization.”
Local and security sources reported that troops had moved toward the north of the city.
Early Thursday, M23 police and plain-clothed agents were still seen in the streets and at strategic points, according to local sources.
“At city hall, at the headquarters, at the police, in front of banks, where there were a large number of M23 elements, we woke up this morning and it’s police officers who are there,” a civil society representative told AFP on condition of anonymity.
An M23 official confirmed to AFP Thursday that “police and soldiers in plain clothes” were still in Uvira as well as “our intelligence services.”
Provincial authorities in South Kivu, where Uvira is located, said in a statement Thursday that M23 forces were nine kilometers (nearly six miles) from Uvira, with their artillery and “no intention whatsoever of returning.”
Contacted by AFP Thursday, the M23 declined to say how far its troops had withdrawn or their location.
“This withdrawal will only be valid if our services can fully verify by regaining control of the city,” Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya told AFP.
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M23 police still present as armed group withdraws from DR Congo city
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M23 police still present as armed group withdraws from DR Congo city
- Local and security sources reported that troops had moved toward the north of the city.
- Early Thursday, M23 police and plain-clothed agents were still seen in the streets and at strategic points
Moderate candidate wins emphatically over a populist in Portugal’s presidential runoff
LISBON: Center-left Socialist candidate António José Seguro recorded a thumping victory over hard-right populist André Ventura in Portugal’s runoff presidential election Sunday, according to official results with 99 percent of votes counted.
Seguro won a five-year term in Lisbon’s riverside “pink palace” with 66.7 percent of votes, compared with 33.3 percent for Ventura.
The ballot was an opportunity to test the depth of support for Ventura’s brash style, which has struck a chord with voters and helped make his Chega (Enough) party the second-biggest in the Portuguese parliament, as well as gauge the public appetite for Europe’s increasing shift to the right in recent years.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Seguro and said on social media that “Portugal’s voice for our shared European values remains strong.”
Seguro, a longstanding Socialist politician, positioned himself as a moderate candidate who will cooperate with Portugal’s center-right minority government, repudiating Ventura’s anti-establishment and anti-immigrant tirades.
He won the backing of other mainstream politicians on the left and right who want to halt the rising populist tide.
In Portugal, the president is largely a figurehead with no executive power. Traditionally, the head of state stands above the political fray, mediating disputes and defusing tensions.
However, the president is an influential voice and possesses some powerful tools, being able to veto legislation from parliament, although the veto can be overturned. The head of state also possesses what in Portuguese political jargon is called an “atomic bomb,” the power to dissolve parliament and call early elections.
In May, Portugal held its third general election in three years in the country’s worst bout of political instability for decades, and steadying the ship is a key challenge for the next president.
Ventura, an eloquent and theatrical politician, rejected political accommodation in favor of a more combative stance.
Ventura said he will keep working to bring about a political “transformation” in Portugal.
“I tried to show there’s a different way … that we needed a different kind of president,” he told reporters.
Making it through to the runoff was already a milestone for Ventura and his party, which have recalibrated Portuguese politics.
One of Ventura’s main targets has been what he calls excessive immigration, as foreign workers have become more conspicuous in Portugal in recent years.
“Portugal is ours,” he said.
During the campaign, Ventura put up billboards across the country saying, “This isn’t Bangladesh” and “Immigrants shouldn’t be allowed to live on welfare.”
Although he founded his party less than seven years ago, its surge in public support made it the second-largest party in Portugal’s parliament in the May 18 general election.
Seguro will next month replace center-right President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has served the constitutional limit of two five-year terms.
Seguro won a five-year term in Lisbon’s riverside “pink palace” with 66.7 percent of votes, compared with 33.3 percent for Ventura.
The ballot was an opportunity to test the depth of support for Ventura’s brash style, which has struck a chord with voters and helped make his Chega (Enough) party the second-biggest in the Portuguese parliament, as well as gauge the public appetite for Europe’s increasing shift to the right in recent years.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Seguro and said on social media that “Portugal’s voice for our shared European values remains strong.”
Seguro, a longstanding Socialist politician, positioned himself as a moderate candidate who will cooperate with Portugal’s center-right minority government, repudiating Ventura’s anti-establishment and anti-immigrant tirades.
He won the backing of other mainstream politicians on the left and right who want to halt the rising populist tide.
In Portugal, the president is largely a figurehead with no executive power. Traditionally, the head of state stands above the political fray, mediating disputes and defusing tensions.
However, the president is an influential voice and possesses some powerful tools, being able to veto legislation from parliament, although the veto can be overturned. The head of state also possesses what in Portuguese political jargon is called an “atomic bomb,” the power to dissolve parliament and call early elections.
In May, Portugal held its third general election in three years in the country’s worst bout of political instability for decades, and steadying the ship is a key challenge for the next president.
Ventura, an eloquent and theatrical politician, rejected political accommodation in favor of a more combative stance.
Ventura said he will keep working to bring about a political “transformation” in Portugal.
“I tried to show there’s a different way … that we needed a different kind of president,” he told reporters.
Making it through to the runoff was already a milestone for Ventura and his party, which have recalibrated Portuguese politics.
One of Ventura’s main targets has been what he calls excessive immigration, as foreign workers have become more conspicuous in Portugal in recent years.
“Portugal is ours,” he said.
During the campaign, Ventura put up billboards across the country saying, “This isn’t Bangladesh” and “Immigrants shouldn’t be allowed to live on welfare.”
Although he founded his party less than seven years ago, its surge in public support made it the second-largest party in Portugal’s parliament in the May 18 general election.
Seguro will next month replace center-right President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has served the constitutional limit of two five-year terms.
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