The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group said it took control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday, after a rapid offensive since the start of the month.

The group’s spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, made the announcement on X in a post encouraging fleeing citizens to return to their homes.

Located on the border with Burundi, Uvira had become a significant stronghold in South Kivu since M23 seized the province’s capital of Bukavu in February.

On Wednesday, Uvira residents reported a chaotic night where Congolese army troops fled, and gunfire was heard throughout the city.

M23’s latest assault comes despite a US-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the accord as “historic.”
The deal didn’t include the rebels, who are negotiating separately with the DRC, but it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.

In his address to parliament on Monday, Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of violating the Washington peace agreement.
Local United Nations partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced across South Kivu since 2 December, with more than 70 killed.

Dozens of armed groups are vying for control of the mineral-rich eastern DRC near the border with Rwanda. The most prominent rebel group, M23, is backed by Kigali.

Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, signed a US-brokered deal in June and were in Washington last week to finalise the agreement.

Over the weekend, thousands of people in South Kivu were forced to flee their homes as fighting intensified.

M23 rebels and Congolese forces have repeatedly accused each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreed earlier this year. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, according to UN experts.