Over 400 civilians killed in fighting in eastern Congo, despite U.S.-mediated peace deal

M23 rebels escort government soldiers and police who surrendered to an undisclosed location in Goma, Democratic republic of the Congo, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa) (Moses Sawasawa)

GOMA, Congo -- More than 400 civilians have been killed since the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group escalated its offensive in the South Kivu province in eastern Congo, regional officials said, adding that Rwandan special forces were in the strategic city of Uvira.

“More than 413 civilians (have been) killed by bullets, grenades and bombs, including many women, children and young people” in localities between Uvira and Bukavu, the regional capital, the South Kivu government spokesperson said in a statement late Wednesday.

M23’s latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed last week by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington. The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, it obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and work to end hostilities.

“According to the information gathered, the forces present in the city are composed of Rwandan special forces and some of their foreign mercenaries, operating in clear violation of the ceasefire as well as the Washington and Doha agreements, in total disregard of the commitments made,” the South Kivu government statement added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the “immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities.”

Guterres “is deeply alarmed by the escalation in violence in South Kivu and its humanitarian consequences,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the secretary-general.

Conflict spreads

M23 said it had taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month. Uvira is an important port city on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika and is directly across from neighbouring Burundi’s largest city, Bujumbura.

The announcement by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, posted on social platform X, encouraged citizens who fled to return to their homes.

Congo, the U.S. and UN experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the UN, the group has around 6,500 fighters.

While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. UN experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.

Burundian Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana, in an interview with French state media RFI on Wednesday, urged the U.S. to pressure Rwandan President Paul Kagame to ensure the implementation of the agreement signed in the U.S.

“M23 without Kagame, without Rwanda, is nothing,” he said.

Bizimana said the capture of Uvira poses a threat to the economic capital, Bujumbura.

“We have registered more than 30,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in the last three days … Uvira and Bujumbura are coastal cities. What threatens Uvira also threatens Bujumbura.”

On Thursday, M23’s Kanyuka said on X that some Burundian forces were in Uvira and Minembwe in South Kivu to attack the rebel group.

“Since early Thursday morning, Dec. 11, 2025, these elements entrenched in the highlands have resumed, with unacceptable brutality, their campaign of extermination against our Tutsi Banyamulenge compatriots in Minembwe, indiscriminately launching bombs and using heavy artillery that is killing innocent civilians, including women and children,” he wrote.

The chairperson of the African Union, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, on Thursday said he “deeply regrets these clashes and the violence perpetrated against civilian populations, which run counter to the momentum generated by the Doha Framework Agreement” between Congo and AFC/M23, “as well as the Washington D.C. Agreement between the DRC and Rwanda.” He also called on all parties “to exercise restraint and to prioritize a political solution.”

Struggle for mineral-rich territory

In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa urged M23 and Rwandan troops to cease all offensive operations and for the Rwandan Defense Forces to withdraw to Rwanda.

The Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs blamed the Congolese armed forces for the recent ceasefire violations in a statement on X on Wednesday.

“The DRC has openly stated that it would not observe any ceasefire, and was fighting to recapture territories lost to AFC/M23, even as the peace process unfolded,” it said.

“This problem we are facing as a country originates from our neighbours. It is a problem with history, with politics behind it, and with many unclear elements,” Kagame of Rwanda said on X on Thursday. “We desire peace, and we know very well what the absence of peace means, because we have lived through long periods without it.”

Patrick Muyaya, the spokesperson for the Congolese government on Thursday accused Rwanda of violating the agreement made in D.C.

“The armed forces are maintaining the level of alert required by this aggression and will continue to defend the territorial integrity of the country,” he said.

More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, according to the UN agency for refugees.

Local UN partners report that more than 200,000 people have been displaced across the province since Dec. 2, with more than 70 killed. Civilians also have crossed into Burundi, and there have been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border, raising concerns about the conflict spilling over into Burundian territory.

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By Justin Kabumba And Monika Pronczuk

Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Renovat Ndabashinze in Bujumbura, Burundi, contributed to this report.