Four more M23 rebels arrested in Kisoro

Four people suspected to be members of the M23 combatants have been arrested in Kisoro District on their way to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They are; Captain Karuhije Habiyaremye, 30, Lieutenant Abdu Amani, 28, Sergeant Isaac Habimfura,24, and Corporal Innocent Amani, 21. They are all residents of Masisi territory, North Kivu province in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kisoro District Police Commander Charles Okoto said the rebels were arrested at Kanombe cell, Muramba Sub County, Kisoro District on Thursday.

He added that they were intercepted by locals in the area while trying to cross to Democratic republic of Congo through secret path.
Hajji Shafique Ssekandi, the Kisoro Resident District Commissioner said the suspects now detained at Kisoro Police Station, are part of the 750 ex-combatants who recently escaped from Bihanga Military Training School in Ibanda District.
Mr Ssekandi also urged locals to remain vigilant and alert security for intervention in case they become suspicious or fail to recognize any person in the area.

This is not the first time M23 rebels are arrested in Kisoro trying to cross to Democratic republic of Congo. On January 23, five more M23 rebels were intercepted at Kanaba along Kabale-Kisoro road. They were relocated to Bihanga Military Training School.
The M23 Movement also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army was a rebel military group based in Eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Ex-combatants sought refuge in Uganda after a ceasefire agreement that ended their activities and control in Goma.
Some started dwelling in Kisoro District as urban refugees while others were taken to Bihanga Military Training School in Ibanda district for demobilization. In December 2013, a total of 1,374 ex-M23 combatants were transferred from Kavera in Kasese district to Bihanga.

During the recent meeting with team, military attaches from the United States of America, India, China, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and the ex-combatants at Bihanga Military Training School, it was revealed that the number of ex-combatants dwindles by the day and their destination is yet to be known.
During the meeting it was also revealed that, a total of 750 former combatants are missing from the Military Training School. Rebel Commander, Sultan Makenga and Lt Colonel Vianney Kazarama, the spokesperson of the M23 Military wing, escaped from the camp.
Currently, the UPDF can only account for about three hundred of them.