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UVIRA (DR Congo), Jan 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Congolese soldiers and combatants from a pro-government militia have re-entered the eastern town of Uvira, residents said on Monday, just over a month after it fell to Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in a blow to peace efforts mediated by the Trump administration.
M23 entered Uvira, an important base for the Congolese army near the border with Burundi, on Dec 10, days after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan leader Paul Kagame met President Donald Trump in Washington and reaffirmed a U.S.-brokered peace deal.
The capture marked the rebels’ biggest gains in months, fueling fears of regional spillover from fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands in the last year.
M23 staged a lightning advance in January 2025 and still holds more territory than ever before, including Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces, respectively.
After U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in December that Rwanda’s actions in mineral-rich eastern Congo were violating the peace deal, M23 pledged to withdraw from Uvira to give peace talks a chance.
Heavy fighting has continued on the outskirts of Uvira, and M23 and the Congolese government on Sunday traded accusations of looting inside the town.
During a meeting in Togo focused on eastern Congo, African leaders on Saturday reaffirmed their support for the Doha talks and called for them to resume without delay. — NNN-AGENCIES