AFC/M23 Rebels Agree to US Request for Withdrawal From City in DR Congo

AFC/M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, on Tuesday agreed to withdraw from the city of Uvira in eastern DRC following a request from US mediators. The group said its withdrawal was a gesture to give the ongoing peace process between Rwanda and DRC a chance to succeed.

16/12/2025 - 10:14

FRANCE 24

The AFC/M23 armed group said Tuesday it had agreed to a request from the United States to withdraw from the city of Uvira in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Rwanda-backed militia seized the city near the border with Burundi last week, days after the Congolese and Rwandan governments signed a road map towards a peace agreement in Washington – whose future has been cast in doubt by the AFC/M23 advance, raising fears of a wider regional war.

The group "will unilaterally withdraw its forces from the city of Uvira, as requested by the US mediators", it said in a statement signed by its coordinator, Corneil Nangaa.

The AFC/M23 called for "adequate measures" to be put in place to manage the city, including "demilitarisation, protecting its population and infrastructure, and monitoring the ceasefire with a neutral force".

It called for implementation of a framework ceasefire deal reached in a parallel peace process negotiated in the Qatari capital Doha, which was agreed in November but never respected on the ground.

The M23 said it was withdrawing as a gesture "to instil trust in order to give the Doha peace process every chance to succeed".

The DRC's mineral-rich east has been ravaged by three decades of conflict.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)