Red Cross escorts over 1,000 disarmed Congolese soldiers from rebel-controlled city to capital

GOMA, Congo (AP) - Over a thousand disarmed Congolese soldiers and police officers, along with their families, have safely been transferred from the rebel-controlled city of Goma in eastern Congo to the capital over the last two weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced Thursday.

The soldiers and police officers had been taking refuge at the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Congo's base since January, when the decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma.

The Red Cross said in a statement it helped escort the 1,359 disarmed members of the government forces and their families from Goma to the capital Kinshasa between April 30 and May 15th, traveling nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and across a front line.

The ICRC said it accompanied several convoys on the road, while transport by helicopter and plane was carried out by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo and the country's armed forces.

"The operation has been a success, it has enabled those transported to Kinshasa to get back in touch with their families and, we hope, will reduce tensions in the city of Goma," Myriam Favier, head of the ICRC's sub-delegation in Goma, said.

The transfer of the government forces was the result of an agreement reached between the Congolese government, the rebels, the U.N. mission and the ICRC, which was called upon as a neutral intermediary, the Red Cross said, adding that it made sure that all the individuals had consented to being transported in the convoys.

For security reasons, no media outlets were allowed to film or photograph the operation.

The news of the successful transfer comes amid persistent tensions in eastern Congo, where fighting between Congo's army and M23 continues, despite both sides having agreed to work toward a truce last month.

Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year.

The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west.

On Thursday, Congolese authorities accused Rwanda's army and M23 of having killed dozens and abducted thousands in eastern Congo.

Last week, Congo and Rwanda submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process, with the Trump administration eyeing access to critical minerals in the resource-rich region.