A rebel coalition that includes the M23 armed group announced on Dec. 16 that it would withdraw its fighters from the town of Uvira in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu province. In a statement, the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) said the decision was made following a mediation request from the United States and was intended to support a recent peace process.
AFC leader Corneille Nangaa released the signed statement on the social media platform X, describing the move as a “unilateral trust-building measure.” The statement said the withdrawal was meant to give the “Doha peace process the maximum chance to succeed.” The coalition also called on international guarantors of the peace process to oversee the demilitarization of Uvira and ensure the protection of its population and infrastructure through “the deployment of a neutral force.”
The announcement came a week after the AFC seized control of Uvira, a town located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika near the DRC’s border with Burundi. An Al Jazeera report from Uvira on Tuesday morning noted that M23 fighters remained present in the town at that time. The AFC statement also mentioned that in the past, the Congolese army and its allies had “exploited similar withdrawals to retake territory.”
The capture of Uvira by the AFC followed two significant diplomatic efforts. In November, a framework deal was agreed upon in Doha, Qatar, establishing a roadmap for de-escalation. More recently, leaders from the DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C.
Following the seizure of Uvira, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the action was a “clear violation of the Washington Accords.” In a post on X, he said the U.S. would “take action to ensure promises made to the president are kept.” The government of Rwanda has previously denied allegations that it provides support to the M23 group.
Paul-Simon Handy, the East Africa regional director at the Institute for Security Studies, provided commentary on the situation to Al Jazeera. He characterized the capture of Uvira as a “negotiating tactic” and suggested the subsequent withdrawal announcement was likely a “direct consequence” of the U.S. reaction.
“Wanting to give peace a chance would have meant not taking over Uvira after the signing of the Washington and the Doha agreements,” Handy said.
Conflict in the eastern DRC has continued for years, leading to significant displacement. The recent events in Uvira have raised concerns about the stability of the region, which also involves troops from neighboring countries, including Burundi.
