Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured the strategic eastern Congolese city of Uvira on Wednesday, forcing Congolese troops to flee and displacing about 200,000 civilians, the United Nations said.
The rapid advance came less than a week after a U.S.-mediated peace agreement between Congo and Rwanda has thrown the accord into jeopardy.
Heavy gunfire rang out in Uvira throughout the morning as M23 fighters moved in from the north, local officials and residents said. Congolese army units abandoned their positions, with many soldiers boarding boats across Lake Tanganyika toward neighboring provinces or crossing into Burundi alongside thousands of civilians.
The U.N. humanitarian office reported at least 74 people killed and 83 wounded since fighting resumed Monday. Most of the dead were civilians hit by artillery or caught in crossfire.
Uvira had been the last major government-controlled city in South Kivu province after Congolese forces lost the provincial capital, Bukavu, in January. Its fall hands the rebels control of a key port on Lake Tanganyika and a border crossing used by Burundian troops who have been fighting alongside the Congolese army.
“There is no army left in Uvira,” a senior Congolese officer told The Associated Press by telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. “The soldiers ran.”
Accord under strain
The offensive began days after Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed a peace deal in Washington on Dec. 4, with President Donald Trump presiding. The agreement called on Rwanda to end support for armed groups in Congo but did not include the M23, which is pursuing separate Qatar-mediated talks with Kinshasa.
On Monday, Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of violating the deal almost immediately. Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing the M23, though U.N. experts and the United States say thousands of Rwandan troops are fighting inside Congo alongside the rebels.
M23 political leader Bertrand Bisimwa said Wednesday that the group remains open to talks. “Even while we defend ourselves and counterattack, we have always said the solution is at the negotiating table,” he told reporters.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the broader Congo River Alliance that includes M23, urged retreating Congolese soldiers not to abandon the city. “You are Congolese. Stay in Uvira and wait for us to liberate you,” he said in an audio message.
Humanitarian toll mounts
Before this week’s fighting, more than 1.2 million people had already been displaced by the conflict in eastern Congo. The new exodus has overwhelmed roads and lake ports around Uvira.
“People are leaving with nothing,” said Marafiki Masimango, a civil-society leader in the city. “Families are sleeping in the open. There is panic everywhere.”
Burundi said Rwandan artillery fire near its border wounded at least two people over the weekend, raising fears the fighting could spread.
A senior Trump administration official said the United States is pressing both sides to honor the Washington agreement. “The president has made clear he will judge the parties by their actions, not their words,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic exchanges.
Analysts say the fall of Uvira gives M23 its strongest position in more than a decade and could encourage further advances unless diplomatic pressure on Rwanda intensifies quickly.
The rebellion, led largely by ethnic Tutsis, began in 2021 with complaints of discrimination against Congolese Tutsis. It has since grown into one of the most serious threats to the Congolese government in years.
