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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 30174, member: 2262"] M23 rebels plan to create their banking system in parts of Congo they control. This move shows they want to stay put despite peace talks. The Congo government already cut off banking services in Goma and Bukavu after M23 took these cities. Government workers there must use mobile money to get paid because regular banks closed down. On Wednesday, M23 leaders said they're taking steps to build their financial system. Their president, Bertrand Bisimwa, announced several people for top jobs at their new Savings Bank of Congo. Javane Dusabe Sangano will run the bank as director general. Yves Sumbu Kasongo will become deputy director for money matters. Katembo Kanyihata will take charge of administrative and legal issues. They named three more people - Delion Kimbulungu, Rigobert Amani Kabasha, and Samuel Nsabimana - to serve on the bank's board. By setting up a bank, M23 signals they won't leave areas they captured, even as diplomats try to calm things down. That same Wednesday, fierce fighting broke out between M23 and Congo's army, plus local militia groups, near Walikale town. Local reports say Congo's army joined forces with Mai-Mai fighters and Wazalendo militia to attack M23 positions around 5 a.m. This fighting happened despite a meeting between Congo President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda President Paul Kagame in Qatar on March 18. Intelligence shows M23 keeps grabbing more control of key roads between major cities. M23 first said they would pull out of Walikale but changed their minds, claiming government forces had built up troops there instead. Since fighting restarted in 2022, M23 has taken large areas in eastern Congo. [/QUOTE]

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