Violent fighting broke out Saturday (January 3, 2026) between the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group and pro-Kinshasa forces in several towns around the strategic eastern DR Congo city of Uvira, local sources said.
The resource-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which borders Rwanda as well as Burundi, has been beset by 30 years of continual violence.
The situation has worsened since 2021 amid the resurgence of the M23.
Having seized the two main eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu late last year, the group launched a new offensive in December in South Kivu province and gained control on December 10 of Uvira, a strategic city of several hundred thousand people near Burundi, DRC's ally.
The group also took control of border areas at a time when the DRC and Rwanda were signing a peace accord in Washington, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
