KINSHASA: M23 police and plain-clothed intelligence agents were still deployed Thursday in Uvira, local and security sources said, after the armed group announced it had begun withdrawing from the eastern DR Congo city.
After seizing the major cities of Goma and Bukavu early this year, fighters from the Rwanda-backed M23 group captured Uvira near the border with Burundi on December 10.
Its fall came days after the Congolese and Rwandan leaders signed a peace deal in Washington and the offensive drew sharp condemnation from the United States, which vowed “action” over the “clear violation” of the US-brokered accord.
The seizure of Uvira — a city of several hundred thousand people — allowed the anti-government M23 to control the land border with Burundi and cut the DRC off from military support from its neighbor.
On Wednesday, the M23 said it had begun pulling out from the city and called on “mediators and other partners to ensure Uvira is protected from violence, reprisals and remilitarization.”
