DAKAR – Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 said that it had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month and on the heels of a U.S. attempt to quell violence from the conflict.
The announcement, made on social platform X by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, encouraged citizens who fled to return to their homes. Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighboring Burundi's largest city, Bujumbura.
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M23's latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. The accord didn't include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.
Latest offensive
Residents of Uvira reported a chaotic night where Congolese army troops fled, and gunfire was reported throughout the city.
Rumors circulated that the governor of South Kivu, the province where Uvira is located, had fled in the night, which the governor denied.
Congo Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya said in a speech that over one hundred people had died in the latest offensive, while not explicitly acknowledging the rebel takeover of the city.
Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the U.N., the group has around 6,500 fighters.
While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.
In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa urged M23 and Rwandan troops to cease all offensive operations and for the Rwandan Defense Forces to withdraw to Rwanda.
On Wednesday morning, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the Congolese armed forces for the recent ceasefire violations in a statement on X.
“The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded," the statement said.
Conflict intensifies
More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, most prominently the M23 group. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, officials say.
Last week, residents said that the fighting had intensified in South Kivu, despite the deal signed in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump in attendance.
Local U.N. partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced across the province since Dec. 2, with more than 70 killed. Civilians also have crossed into Burundi, and there have been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundian territory.
Earlier this year, M23 seized Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in eastern Congo, in a major escalation of the yearslong conflict.
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Ruth Alonga contributed from Goma, Congo.