Overview
- The rebel group announced on X that it had seized Uvira, a strategic port on Lake Tanganyika, though Congolese authorities had not confirmed control and residents still reported gunfire.
- Local sources described FARDC units withdrawing and widespread panic as M23 pushed into the city’s outskirts following its December offensive in South Kivu.
- United Nations figures indicate roughly 200,000 people displaced since December 2 and more than 70 civilian deaths, with many fleeing toward Burundi.
- Burundi closed main border posts and reported over 30,000 new arrivals in recent days, citing security risks near Bujumbura and shelling reported in Rugombo.
- The advance comes days after Presidents Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame signed a Washington agreement that excluded the rebels; Congo’s foreign minister urged expanded U.S. sanctions on Rwanda as Kigali denied backing M23.