M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have agreed to withdraw from the eastern Congolese town of Uvira following a request from the U.S. administration, which had criticized the rebels’ recent seizure of the town as a threat to ongoing mediation efforts. The withdrawal comes less than a week after the presidents of Congo and Rwanda met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where they reaffirmed their commitment to a peace agreement known as the Washington Accords.
On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Rwanda’s actions in eastern Congo, stating that they violated the Washington Accords. He pledged to “take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept.”
Although Rwanda denies supporting M23, it has blamed Congolese and Burundian forces for the renewed fighting. A report from a U.N. expert group in July accused Rwanda of exercising command and control over the rebels. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance of insurgents, including M23, confirmed the rebels’ withdrawal in a post on X, describing it as a “unilateral trust-building measure” to support the Doha peace process.
M23, while not part of the Washington-mediated negotiations, has engaged in separate talks with the Congolese government, facilitated by Qatar. According to a rebel source, both M23 and Congolese forces will withdraw 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Uvira to establish a buffer zone, which M23 had proposed in a recent press conference.
However, General Sylvain Ekenge, spokesperson for the Congolese army, emphasized that Congolese forces remain determined to regain control of Uvira, calling it “a city in the DRC” and vowing to secure it.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Uvira residents held a march on Tuesday, expressing their gratitude to M23 for expelling Congolese and allied forces from the town. Organiser Freddy Mutupeke explained, “The motivation that drove us to organise this march today is that we are liberated after facing enormous harassment and trauma from the horrors of war. Today, we are liberated by the revolutionary army.”
M23’s lightning offensive in January, which resulted in the capture of eastern Congo’s two largest cities, has led to thousands of deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands more. Since then, the rebels have been working to establish a parallel administration in the region, a move that could potentially lead to a long-lasting fracture in the vast Central African country.
Adapted from Agencies
