AFC/M23 begins withdrawal from Uvira
The AFC/M23 armed group has confirmed that it began withdrawing its forces from the city of Uvira in South Kivu province on Wednesday, December 17, in what it describes as a move in favor of peace.
The announcement was made by the group’s military spokesperson, Lt. Willy Ngoma, in a message posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account. “For the sake of peace, starting this afternoon, our forces have begun leaving the city of Uvira,” Ngoma wrote.
Images shared on X by journalist Steve Wembi showed a column of AFC/M23 fighters departing Uvira in the evening hours, appearing to confirm the start of the withdrawal on the ground.
The move follows an earlier announcement made on Monday, December 15, by the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), of which M23 is a member, stating its intention to pull forces out of Uvira. Corneille Nangaa, the head of the alliance, presented the decision as a confidence-building step aimed at supporting ongoing peace talks.
Nangaa said the decision was linked to progress achieved in the Doha talks, particularly the signing of the Doha Principles on November 15, 2025. According to the statement, the withdrawal was also carried out at the request of United States mediators seeking a lasting solution to the conflict in eastern Congo.
Despite citing what it described as continued provocations and abuses by the Congolese army (FARDC) and its allied groups, including Wazalendo militias, AFC/M23 said it chose to leave Uvira in order to give greater space to peace negotiations and to demonstrate its willingness to resolve the conflict through dialogue.
However, the alliance expressed concern based on past experiences, arguing that previous confidence-building measures had been exploited by FARDC, Wazalendo and their allies to retake areas previously captured by AFC/M23 and to target civilians accused of supporting the group.
For this reason, AFC/M23 called on mediators to put in place clear security arrangements for Uvira following its withdrawal. The group said such measures should include the demilitarization of the city, protection of civilians and key infrastructure, and effective monitoring of the ceasefire through the deployment of neutral forces.
AFC/M23 seized control of Uvira on December 9, after pushing out a coalition of forces fighting alongside the Congolese government
