About 200,000 people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Rwanda-backed rebels advanced on the strategic eastern town of Uvira, days after US-hosted talks in Washington where Rwandan and Congolese leaders signed a pact intended to halt the war.
The UN reported at least 74 people killed, mostly civilians, and 83 people treated in hospital for wounds from the recent escalation.
Local officials and residents said M23 rebels were pushing toward the lakeside town on the Burundi border and clashing with Congolese troops and local defence groups known as Wazalendo in villages to the north.
On 4 December, President Trump hosted the Rwandan and DRC presidents in Washington for a ceremony that proclaimed a US- and Qatari-brokered agreement to end the conflict. Trump declared, “Today we’re succeeding where so many others have failed,” saying his administration had ended a 30-year conflict that has cost millions of lives.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo rebel coalition, said M23 fighters advanced on Uvira after coming under attack by government forces and urged retreating soldiers not to abandon the town. South Kivu provincial spokesman Didier Kabi said there was chaos in Uvira after rumours of rebel proximity, but that calm was later restored.
M23 commander Bertrand Bisimwa said the group still supports Qatari-led talks in Doha and insisted negotiations are the only solution, urging Kinshasa to come to the table even if the rebels counterattack.
On Monday the rebels seized Luvungi, a frontline town since February, and fierce fighting continued near Sange and Kiliba along the road toward Uvira. Rwanda denies backing M23, but the US and UN say evidence shows otherwise. Before this recent surge, the conflict had already displaced at least 1.2 million people.
The US state department said it was deeply concerned by the violence, warning: “Rwanda, which continues to provide support to M23, must prevent further escalation.”
