Overview
- The AFC/M23 announced a unilateral pullout from the strategic border city after seizing it on December 10 during a renewed offensive.
- The communiqué sought demilitarization, civilian protection and neutral cease-fire monitoring in Uvira, while offering no timeline for implementation.
- Clashes persisted south of the city near Makobola, and the advance now threatens Baraka and Fizi as Congolese and Burundian units fall back.
- The United Nations and aid groups report dozens of deaths, at least 100 people wounded by gunfire and more than 200,000 displaced.
- Rwanda is widely reported to support M23 though Kigali denies it, and most of Burundi’s 18,000 troops previously deployed have returned across the border.