New clashes between M23 and militia in one of the cities in Congo after promise of troop withdrawal
Kyiv • UNN
Clashes erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo between the M23 group and a pro-government militia near Uvira. This happened a few days after M23 promised to withdraw troops from the city, but its members reportedly remained in civilian clothes.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, clashes erupted on Monday near Uvira between the M23 group and pro-government militias, days after M23 pledged to withdraw troops from the city, AFP reports, citing local sources, writes UNN.
Details
The M23 militia, supported by Rwanda, captured the strategically important city near the Burundian border earlier this month, shortly after the Congolese and Rwandan governments signed a peace agreement in Washington, which US President Donald Trump called a "great miracle."
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However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has since accused Rwanda of violating the peace agreement signed with its neighbor on December 4, and has vowed unspecified "action" in response.
The leader of the M23 political wing, Corneille Nangaa, announced that the group would "unilaterally withdraw its forces from the city of Uvira at the request of American mediators."
However, according to local sources and security services, M23 members in civilian clothes remained in the city, the publication writes.
On Monday, a shootout occurred between M23 and a pro-Kinshasa militia called "Wazalendo," "the sounds of which were heard throughout Uvira," local civil society leader Mafikiri Mashimango told AFP.
According to a resident contacted by phone, people remained at home for safety, and activity in the city was "paralyzed."
According to residents, the clashes appeared to be concentrated in the surrounding hills and areas south and southwest of the city, including near the port of Kalundu on Lake Tanganyika.
In Mulonvi, southeast of Uvira, a bomb fell, "and bullets are whistling over our houses," a local resident said.
The armed forces of the DRC called the M23 group's promise of withdrawal a "media coup designed to deceive public opinion" and accused the group of redeploying to the hillsides above Uvira.