The DRC government has said the M23 armed group’s unfulfilled pledge to withdraw from the key town of Uvira is a “distraction”, as the group said its conditions for a pullout were yet to be met.Patrick Muyaya, a spokesperson for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government, said Wednesday that the group’s statement it would withdraw from the town in South Kivu province, in line with a request from US mediators, was a “non-event, a diversion, a distraction”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“The son, M23, offers itself in sacrifice before the US mediator to protect the father, Rwanda,” Muyaya said, referring to Kigali’s support for the group.“The intention is to distract the American mediation team, which is preparing to take measures against Rwanda,” Muyaya told Reuters.Later on Wednesday, footage aired exclusively on Al Jazeera appeared to show dozens of fighters from the group and several vehicles on the move near the M23’s main base in Uvira.Reporting from the town, Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani described the movement of the forces as a “withdrawal” and said the group was “voluntarily leaving”.“These are the soldiers leaving the main headquarters, the main operational base of the town of Uvira. They are going now, leaving. We cannot say exactly where they are going, how many kilometres out from this town of Uvira,” he said.It was not immediately clear if the group was withdrawing from t …
