M23 says started withdrawing troops from key DR Congo city

KINSHASA - The M23 began withdrawing on Wednesday from the eastern DR Congo city of Uvira, which fell to the Rwanda-backed militia in an early December offensive that angered Washington.

After seizing the major cities of Goma and Bukavu earlier this year, the M23 captured the strategic city near the border with Burundi last Wednesday.

Capturing Uvira -- a city of several hundred thousand people -- allowed it to control the land border with Burundi and cut the DRC off from military support from its neighbour.

But its offensive came days after the Congolese and Rwandan governments signed a peace deal -- an agreement US President Donald Trump had hailed as a "great miracle", and the advance drew sharp condemnation from Washington, which vowed "action" over the "clear violation" of the US-brokered peace accord.

On Tuesday, the M23 said it would "unilaterally" withdraw from the key city at the request of the United States.

"Our troops, as of this afternoon, have started leaving the city of Uvira," confirmed military spokesman Willy Ngoma on Wednesday.

Local sources and civil society representatives told AFP that M23 troops had started pulling out of the city, heading north, in the opposite direction of the offensive launched in early December.

"As we speak, we can see M23 military vehicles leaving the city heading north, probably towards Luvungi," a resident said by telephone.

"I saw them in columns, with their military bags and weapons, heading toward National Highway 5," the area's main highway, which runs along the Burundian border through the Ruzizi plain, another resident said.

"We don't know how far they'll go... It's a bit scary because we don't know who will secure the city after they leave tonight," they added.

When contacted by AFP, the anti-government group declined to say whether fighters or police would remain in the city.

The M23 urged "mediators and other partners to ensure Uvira is protected from violence, reprisals, and remilitarisation", the head of its political wing, Bertrand Bisimwa, said on X.

The withdrawal "will be complete by tomorrow", he added.

INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya on Wednesday evening called for "vigilance" in response to the M23's "alleged withdrawal from Uvira".

"Who can verify it? Where are they going? How many were there? What are they leaving behind in the city? Mass graves? Soldiers disguised as civilians?" he posted on X.

Burundi's foreign minister had said the previous day that Rwanda was "simply trying to ease international pressure".

While Kigali has never explicitly acknowledged backing the armed group, Washington has directly blamed Rwanda for the M23's capture of Uvira.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz on Friday denounced the "scale and sophistication" of Rwanda's involvement in eastern DRC, accusing it of deploying up to 7,000 troops there.

The M23 has always denied links with Rwanda and says its aim is the overthrow of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi's government.

Its Uvira offensive left dozens dead, at least 100 wounded and more than 200,000 displaced, according to NGOs and the UN.

At least 85,000 refugees have fled into Burundi, where they are living in dire conditions, Burundian officials say.

The peace deal signed in Washington aimed to end three decades of conflict in the DRC's mineral-rich east. It includes an economic component intended to secure US supplies of critical minerals present in the region, as the United States seeks to challenge China's dominance in the sector.