A rebel militia backed by Rwanda announced on Tuesday that it was withdrawing from the city of Uvira in the Democratic Republic of Congo after what it said was a request from the United States.
In a statement, the militia, M23, said the withdrawal was intended to give ongoing peace talks with the Congolese government in Doha, Qatar, “the maximum chance to succeed in providing lasting solutions” to the decades-old conflict.
The U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The rebel group’s offensive in Uvira has displaced more than 200,000 people, according to humanitarian organizations, which said that over 50,000 of those had fled across the border to Burundi. Uvira was the last city under government control in South Kivu. The rebels — who many international organizations say are funded and directed by Rwanda — now control North and South Kivu provinces after an offensive that began early this year.
Any retreat from Uvira would not necessarily signal an end to the fighting that President Trump said he had halted, only for the rebel group to seize the key Congolese city days later in December. Deadly fighting in the Great Lakes region of eastern Congo has been going on for over 30 years, ever since a genocide and civil war began in neighboring Rwanda in 1994.
Officials in Congo, a Central African country rich with resources, have accused Rwanda of giving material aid to M23.
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Rwanda had long denied backing M23 despite evidence documented by U.N. investigations that the country deploys fighters from its army on the ground on Congo. Then, in what appeared to be a confirmation of its support of the militia, Rwanda said that its actions had amounted to “defensive measures” against another rebel group formed by forces accused of participating in the genocide in Rwanda before fleeing to Congo.
By apparently backing the group that captured Uvira, Rwanda found itself in the cross hairs of the United States. Mr. Trump used the peace deal to claim he had ended an eighth war, and he had also aimed to secure access to copper and cobalt reserves in Congo to compete with China.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X on Saturday, “Rwanda’s actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords signed by President Trump, and the United States will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept.”
The United States and Qatar have been leading separate peace efforts in Congo. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump hosted several African leaders, including President Felix Tshisekedi of Congo and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, for the signing of a deal between Congo and Rwanda. But the talks between Congo and M23 led by Qatar have so far failed to produce an agreement.
One week after Mr. Trump’s ceremony, clashes continued across the North Kivu and South Kivu regions in eastern Congo.
Though M23 said it would withdraw from Uvira, when the group planned to leave the city was unclear. It remained in control as of Tuesday afternoon, residents said. In its statement, the group demanded the deployment of a neutral force there and the demilitarization of Uvira. M23 also warned that it would not allow the city to be used by Congolese government forces to attack its positions.
Gen. Sylvain Ekenge, a spokesman for the Congolese Army, said in a statement: “We are stuck in the mountains. You have to be naïve to believe the Rwandans’ statements. If they do not respect the commitments they have made and the signing of an agreement, how can we believe their promises of disengagement?”
Justin Makangara contributed reporting from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Saikou Jammeh is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Dakar, Senegal.
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