Congolese soldiers reenter key eastern city after M23 rebels' withdrawal, army and residents say

GOMA, Congo — Congolese soldiers and fighters from a pro-government militia have reentered the strategic eastern town of Uvira, the army and residents said Monday, a month after it was seized by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, as fighting in the region escalated despite a U.S.-mediated peace deal.

The Congolese army said in a statement it took control of the city on Sunday following the rebels announced withdrawal last month.

''The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are continuing their deployment in Uvira and surrounding areas to consolidate their positions and secure people and their property,'' Congolese army spokesperson Mak Hazukay said in the statement.

''Since yesterday, we have welcomed our soldiers back after more than a month away,'' Alain Ramazani, a resident of Uvira, told The Associated Press over the phone. He added that the soldiers are in the city alongside fighters from the pro-government Wazalendo militia.

Congolese army jeeps were patrolling Uvira on Monday morning, but sporadic gunfire continued, with uncertainty over whether it involved Wazalendo fighters, soldiers or residents in the city flooded with weapons, said Ghislain Kabamba, director of the Observatory for Human Rights, Justice and Local Governance for Social Cohesion in Congo, who is based in Uvira.

M23 had taken control of the city last month following a rapid offensive. More than 1,500 people have been killed and about 300,000 displaced, the Congolese government's spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said Monday.

The rebel group later announced it would withdraw from the city, in what it said was a ''unilateral trust-building measure'' requested by the U.S. to facilitate the peace process.

The rebel push into Uvira had also brought the conflict to the doorstep of neighboring Burundi, which has maintained troops in eastern Congo for years, heightening fears of a broader regional spillover.

The town's seizure came days after Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan leader Paul Kagame met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington to reaffirm a U.S.-brokered peace deal.

Congo, the U.S. and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the U.N.

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 U.N. agency for refugees.

Despite the signing of a deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments brokered by the U.S. and ongoing negotiations between rebels and Congo, fighting continues on several fronts in eastern Congo, continuing to claim numerous civilian and military casualties.