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The Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 said it took control of the strategic town of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon after a rapid offensive since the start of the month.
The announcement by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka on X urged citizens to return to their homes. Uvira is a major port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly opposite Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.
The Congolese authorities did not immediately comment on whether M23 had taken the city.
The M23’s latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington last week. The deal did not include the rebels, who are negotiating separately with Congo and agreed to a ceasefire earlier this year that each side accuses the other of violating. But it requires Rwanda to stop supporting armed groups and work to end hostilities.
Residents of Uvira reported a chaotic night as Congolese army troops fled and gunfire rang out across the city.
More than 100 armed groups are vying to gain a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, led by the M23 group. Authorities say the conflict has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, displacing more than seven million people.
Last week, residents said fighting in South Kivu had intensified despite the agreement signed in Washington DC in the presence of US President Donald Trump.
Local UN partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced and more than 70 killed across the province since December 2. Civilians have also entered Burundi and there were reports of shelling in the town of Rugombo on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundi.
A Congolese government source told Reuters the military would not respond to the advance to protect civilians.
According to UN experts, the rebels in Congo are supported by around 4,000 soldiers from neighboring Rwanda and have at times announced that they will advance to the capital Kinshasa, around 1,600 kilometers to the east.
Earlier this year, M23 captured Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in eastern Congo, leading to a significant escalation of the years-long conflict.
On Monday, Reuters reported that M23 had captured Luvungi, a town that had been on the front lines since February, and that heavy fighting was raging near Sange and Kiliba, villages further along the road to Uvira from the north.
The US and nine other members of the International Contact Group (ICG) for the Great Lakes expressed “deep concern” on Tuesday about renewed clashes in South Kivu province, where Uvira is located, warning that the violence could destabilize the entire region.
Burundi’s Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana told Radio France Internationale on Wednesday that his country had registered more than 30,000 refugees from Congo in the past three days.
