**BREAKING | UVIRA**
The M23 armed group has announced it will withdraw from the strategic town of **Uvira** in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following a request from the **United States**, just days after seizing the town.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, **Corneille Nangaa**, leader of the **Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)** rebel coalition—which includes M23—said fighters would leave Uvira, in **South Kivu province near the Burundi border**, as part of US mediation efforts.
However, journalists on the ground in Uvira reported that **the situation remained unchanged as of Tuesday morning**, with M23 fighters still present in the town.
The rebels said past withdrawals had been exploited by the Congolese army and its allies to retake territory and target civilians accused of sympathising with M23.
M23, which is backed by Rwanda, captured Uvira last week—threatening a **US-brokered peace agreement** between Kinshasa and Kigali signed only days earlier, as well as a **Doha framework peace deal** between the rebels and the Congolese government.
The AFC described the planned pullout as a **“unilateral confidence-building measure”** aimed at giving the Doha peace process a chance to succeed. It urged guarantors of the talks to oversee demilitarisation, protect civilians and infrastructure, and monitor the ceasefire through the deployment of a neutral force.
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### **US Warns of Consequences**
The Doha framework agreement, signed in November, outlined steps to end fighting and address the humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC but did not clearly spell out M23’s withdrawal from occupied areas.
After the capture of Uvira, **US Secretary of State Marco Rubio** accused Rwanda—despite its denials—of violating the **Washington Accords** signed by Congolese and Rwandan leaders in Washington, DC. He warned the United States would “take action” to ensure commitments made to President **Joe Biden** were honoured.
**Paul-Simon Handy**, East Africa regional director at the Institute for Security Studies, said M23’s seizure of Uvira appeared to be a negotiating tactic designed to pressure the Congolese government into territorial and economic concessions. He added that the withdrawal announcement likely followed strong US pressure, cautioning that M23 has previously used a pattern of capturing territory, announcing withdrawals, and later reoccupying it.
The takeover of Uvira, a key town on **Lake Tanganyika**, has also raised tensions with neighbouring **Burundi**, which maintains troops in eastern DRC, fuelling fears of a wider regional escalation in a conflict that has already killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands since January.
