In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the rebel group M23 that has plagued the country for more than a year and a half, says it is laying down its arms and is ready to negotiate with the government.

In a statement, the leader of the M23 movement Bertrand Bisimwa on Tuesday said the group will demobilize and only pursue its goals through political means. The move came hours after government forces pushed rebel fighters from the last two areas under their control.

On Monday, M23 had asked for a unilateral cease-fire to allow stalled peace talks between the two sides to continue, but the government rejected the call, saying it would only accept the end of the group’s armed rebellion.