DR Congo Warns US-led Peace Effort in Jeopardy After M23 Seizes Uvira

By Al Mayadeen English

11 Dec 2025 14:58

Congo is warning that the US-mediated peace initiative with Rwanda is at risk after M23 captured the strategic town of Uvira, triggering mass displacement and exposing major gaps in the current negotiations.

The armed rebel movement M23 tightened its grip on eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, taking control of the strategic town of Uvira and deepening fears that the conflict is sliding further out of Kinshasa’s hands. Residents said the group entered the town overnight, prompting yet another wave of panic among civilians already living through months of instability.

Gunfire rang out intermittently on the outskirts early in the day, though many people carefully emerged to look for food after spending hours in hiding or escaping toward rural areas. Uvira had functioned as a temporary base for the government-installed provincial leadership since February, when rebels captured Bukavu, the provincial capital.

Locals expressed anger at earlier assurances from authorities. "The government told us that Uvira would never fall and that the situation was under their control," Godefroid Shengezi, a teacher, told Reuters. "The reality today is quite the opposite." He added that he had yet to find his three children and feared they may have crossed into Burundi, where officials say the number of refugees has surged in recent days.

The rebel coalition known as the Alliance Fleuve Congo, which includes M23, issued its own statement claiming that civilians in Uvira remained safe and could continue their daily activities.

US-Mediated Peace Talks at Risk

Uvira’s fall comes only a week after Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met in Washington for talks hosted by US President Donald Trump, who has been attempting to engineer a regional peace agreement. Kinshasa said in a late-Wednesday communiqué that the latest developments demand "urgent measures" from the international community to ensure that the terms of the agreement are respected, accusing Rwanda of aggression that could unravel the fragile process.

Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told Reuters that Washington should examine whether broader sanctions against Rwandan military figures are warranted. Rwanda maintains it is not supporting M23 and instead blames Congolese and Burundian troops for fueling the fighting.

M23 is not involved in the talks mediated by Washington. The group has been engaged separately with Kinshasa in Qatar-hosted negotiations.  Speaking to Reuters, Jervin Naidoo of Oxford Economics said the latest developments reveal the shortcomings of the US-brokered effort. "The (US-brokered) DRC-Rwanda deal fails to address the structural drivers of the conflict and crucially excludes M23, highlighting a fundamental flaw: lasting peace cannot be achieved without including the armed group at the negotiation table," he stated.

Displacement Soars as Aid Halts

The humanitarian fallout is growing rapidly. The United Nations estimates that about 200,000 people have fled over the past several days, and dozens of civilians have been killed. Nearly 25,000 people crossed into Burundi between December 5 and 8, Un deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Wednesday.

The World Food Programme has been forced to suspend its operations in South Kivu, leaving 25,000 people without essential assistance. At least 32 schools have suspended classes to shelter displaced families, creating overcrowded conditions that UN officials say heighten the risk of disease outbreaks.