By RismadarVoice Media
December 23, 2025
Fresh clashes erupted on Monday in and around Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite an earlier pledge by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group to withdraw from the area.
The fighting involved M23 elements and pro-government militia fighters known as the Wazalendo, with exchanges of gunfire reported across several parts of the city.
According to Mafikiri Mashimango, a local civil society leader, the sound of heavy shooting could be heard throughout Uvira, heightening fears among residents.
Uvira, located near the Burundi border and Lake Tanganyika, was seized by M23 earlier this month, a development that raised regional, international concerns.
The takeover came shortly after the governments of DR Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington, an accord hailed by US President Donald Trump as a “great miracle.”
However, optimism surrounding the agreement has since waned.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Rwanda of violating the December 4 peace deal, warned that the United States could take unspecified action in response to the alleged breach.
In a statement last week, Corneille Nangaa, leader of M23’s political wing, announced that the group would “unilaterally withdraw its forces from the city of Uvira, as requested by US mediators.”
Despite this declaration, local residents, security officials reported that plainclothes M23 fighters remained in the city, casting doubt on the sincerity of the withdrawal.
Monday’s clashes appeared concentrated in southern and southwestern neighborhoods of Uvira, as well as the surrounding hills overlooking the city.
Residents also reported fighting near the Kalundu port on Lake Tanganyika, a vital commercial hub.
Fear and uncertainty gripped the city as residents stayed indoors. “People are not moving around; activities are completely paralysed,” one resident told reporters.
Another local source said an explosive device landed in Mulongwe, southeast of Uvira, while gunfire echoed above residential areas.
The Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) dismissed M23’s withdrawal announcement as deceptive, describing it as “a media coup, designed to fool public opinion.”
Military officials accused the group of repositioning its fighters in the hills surrounding Uvira, maintaining a strategic presence, despite claims of disengagement.
The renewed violence underscores the fragility of peace efforts in eastern Congo, a region long plagued by armed conflict involving local militias and foreign-backed groups.
Observers warn that without effective monitoring and enforcement of the Washington agreement, the security situation around Uvira and neighboring areas could further deteriorate, threatening civilian lives and regional stability.
