The Congolese army take another step forward in the fight against the M23 rebels.

One year ago, the Congolese army abandoned their posts and fled from the fight of an advancing rebel army. This past Monday, they succeeded in taking back the fifth, rebel-held town, in what appears to be a turning point in the conflict.Thousands of civilians fled their homes on Saturday towards Uganda to escape the preemptive danger. Those that remained, the same people whom reportedly suffered grave abuses under the rebels, gathered throughout the streets to welcome the Congolese soldiers. The UN’s aid in the conflict helped secure the turning point for Congo. Fighting between the two sides has flared up throughout the past year, with each time ending in stalled peace negotiations, hosted in the capital of neighboring Uganda. In March of 2013, the UN deployed an intervention brigade to carry out specific offensive operations, alongside the Congolese national army, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern Congo.. The brigade is made up of a total of 3,069 peacekeepers and is based in North Kivu, which is just north of Rwanda. It is tasked with neutralizing armed groups and reducing the threats posed to State authority or civilian security. Following one UN report that stated the rebels were getting some support from Rwanda, the US formally cut its military aid to Rwanda. The country’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo replied that the measure was intended to mark Rwanda as a scapegoat for the DRC’s problems and that the controversy”is based on allegations of faulty reports which we have said for the last six months are wrong.” Everything that remains of the current conflict all should be decided as the year goes on, but the results might be gained at the cost of dissolving relationships among neighboring countries.