Fresh clashes reported in eastern DRC town of Uvira despite M23 promise to withdraw

Hopes of peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are fading after new clashes erupted in Uvira on Friday.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured the strategic town earlier this month just days after Kigali and Kinshasa reaffirmed their commitment to a US-brokered peace deal during a meeting in Washington. M23 is not party to the accord, but is negotiating separately with Kinshasa in Qatar.

The United States accused Rwanda of violating the agreement and M23 said it would withdraw. But residents say the rebels in plainclothes or wearing police uniforms have stayed behind. Kinshasa has accused M23 of regrouping in the hills above Uvira.

Early on Friday, Congolese armed forces reportedly used drones to strike rebel boats in Lake Tanganyika’s Kalundu port, local security forces say.

Residents also reported hearing gunfire exchanged between pro-Kinshasa forces and M23 fighters earlier this week.

M23 seized the South Kiev cities of Goma and Bukavu along the border with Burundi at the start of the year.

Their offensive into Uvira on December 10 forced tens of thousands of people to flee across the border into Burundi, overwhelming its capacity, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.