The M23 armed group has announced plans to withdraw from the strategic town of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), saying the move follows a request from the United States after the group seized the town last week.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebel coalition—which includes M23—confirmed the decision in a signed statement posted on X on Tuesday. He said the fighters would pull out of Uvira, located in South Kivu province near the Burundi border, “in response to a mediation request by the United States”.
However, the situation on the ground appeared unchanged as of Tuesday morning. Reporting from Uvira, Al Jazeera correspondent Alain Uaykani said M23 fighters were still visibly present in the town.
Uaykani noted that the coalition had expressed concerns based on past experience, warning that previous withdrawals had been “exploited by the Congolese army and its allies to retake territory and target civilians perceived to be sympathetic to the rebels”.
The Rwanda-backed militia captured Uvira last week, a development that threatened to derail a fragile US-brokered ceasefire agreement between the governments of the DRC and Rwanda, signed only days earlier.
The seizure also cast doubt on a separate framework agreement reached in Doha, Qatar, between the Congolese government and the armed group.
In its statement, the AFC described the planned withdrawal as a “unilateral trust-building measure” intended to give the Doha peace process “the maximum chance of success”.
The coalition called on the guarantors of the peace talks to ensure the demilitarisation of Uvira, protect civilians and infrastructure, and closely monitor the ceasefire through the deployment of a neutral force.
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