M23 rebels capture eastern DR Congo city of Uvira as thousands flee to Burundi

M23 rebels on Wednesday entered the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) city of Uvira, a key military base near the borders with Burundi and Rwanda.

Lawrence Kanyuka, a spokesman for an alliance including M23 fighters, claimed that their forces controlled the city, stating on social media that Uvira had been "liberated."

He cited months of attacks on residents by Congolese and allied forces as justification for the assault, adding that displaced residents could now return, "freed from all harassment and violence."

The rebels’ latest advance in the resource-rich South Kivu border region comes just days after Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met US President Donald Trump in Washington to reaffirm their commitment to a US-brokered peace deal.

Uvira, home to more than half a million people, sits on Lake Tanganyika and the River Ruzizi, natural borders between the DRC, Burundi, and Rwanda.

Burundi border crossings closed

Burundi, which has tense relations with Rwanda, announced on Tuesday afternoon that it had closed its border crossings with the DRC, designating them "military zones."

Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana told Radio France Internationale on Wednesday that Burundi had received more than 30,000 Congolese refugees over the past three days.

He also called for sanctions against Rwanda in an interview with AFP.

"Signing an agreement and not implementing it is a humiliation for everyone, and first and foremost for President Trump," Bizimana said. "It's truly a slap in the face to the United States, a middle finger."

Uvira lies only around 20 kilometres from Burundi’s economic capital and largest city, Bujumbura. The government in Gitega views the city’s capture by M23 fighters as an existential threat.

Gunfire in the city

Reports on Wednesday about the situation in the city were mixed, with some residents still hearing gunfire.

Reuters cited a DRC military source saying the army would not engage to protect civilians, while AFP reported that some troops had abandoned their weapons and uniforms, looting as they fled.

The US and nine other members of the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes issued a joint statement expressing "profound concern" over the renewed clashes in South Kivu. They called on M23 to "immediately halt" its advance and urged Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the DRC.

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• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Burundi
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Refugees
• Rwanda
• south kivu
• m23
• Uvira
• Great Lakes region
• Donald Trump DRC
• DRC Peace agreements
• M23 rebels capture eastern DR Congo city of Uvira as thousands flee to Burundi
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M23’s rapid advance began on 1 December, coinciding with Trump’s efforts to advance a peace accord between the DRC and Rwanda in Washington.

The agreement, hailed by the US president as a "miracle," included plans to secure US mining rights for valuable rare earth minerals such as coltan.

"They spent a lot of time killing each other," Trump said during the meeting. "And now they're going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands and taking advantage of the United States of America economically like every other country does."

The UN’s OCHA humanitarian agency estimates that more than 200,000 people have been displaced from South Kivu province since 2 December, with thousands more crossing nearby borders.

Rwanda, accused of failing to withdraw its forces from the DRC border regions, in turn accused the DRC and Burundi of deliberately violating the peace deal in a statement issued on Wednesday.