Rebels say they will withdraw from seized DR Congo town
M23 rebels say they will withdraw from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo town of Uvira at the request of the US administration, which criticized last week’s capture of the town as a threat to mediation efforts.
Rebels entered Uvira, on the border with Burundi, less than a week after the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda met with US President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., and confirmed their commitment to a peace agreement known as the Washington Accords.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Rwanda’s actions in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo violated the Washington Accords and promised “action to ensure that promises made to the president are kept.”
Rwanda denies supporting M23 and blames forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi for the renewed fighting.
A report by a group of United Nations experts in July said Rwanda was exercising command and control over the rebels.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance of rebels that includes M23, said in a post published on X overnight that the rebels would withdraw.
Declaration of Alliance Fleuve Congo, AFC_M23 as confidence-building measures for peace. pic.twitter.com/0YPVfgoIrc— Corneille Nangaa (@CNangaa) December 16, 2025
He said the move was “a unilateral confidence-building measure to give the Doha peace process the maximum chance of success.”
M23 is not a party to the U.S.-brokered talks but is participating in separate, parallel talks with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo hosted by Qatar.
A rebel source said both M23 and DR Congo forces would withdraw 5 km from Uvira to create a buffer zone; This is something M23 suggested at its press conference last week.
But DR Congolese army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge told Reuters on Tuesday that his forces intend to regain control of Uvira.
“Uvira is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We will do everything we can to take the city back and ensure its safety,” he said.
The governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Uvira residents took part in a march to thank M23 for driving out DR Congo and allied forces.
“The motivation that drives us to organize this march today is our liberation after facing tremendous harassment and trauma from the horrors of war. We were liberated today by the revolutionary army,” organizer Freddy Mutupeke said.
M23 launched a blitzkrieg in January, seizing the two largest cities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands.
The rebels have since sought to establish a parallel administration in the east, potentially leaving the vast Central African country ripe for permanent rupture.
