Rebel forces captured the strategic town of Luvungi and pushed deeper into South Kivu Province through Saturday, defying a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed just two days earlier between Congo and Rwanda that was supposed to halt the escalating violence in eastern Africa’s most volatile conflict zone.
The March 23 Movement, known as M23, mounted sustained attacks across multiple fronts from Tuesday through the weekend, seizing territory around Kaziba, Lubarika, Rurambo and Luvungi while battling toward the heights of Mount Munanira, military sources confirmed. The rebel advance threatens Uvira, South Kivu’s temporary administrative seat, raising alarm among Congolese authorities that the province could become a second major war theater after Bukavu, the provincial capital, fell to insurgents in February.
“The rebels launched several attacks on our positions and attempted to bypass our defensive arrangements along the Kaziba-Luvungi axis, but the army continues to repel these attempts. Fighting is still ongoing,” FARDC spokesperson Reagen Mbuyi said Thursday, speaking for the Armed Forces of the DRC. By Friday, however, local sources confirmed M23 had broken through toward the Ruzizi Plain and established control over corridors leading to Uvira from Luvungi.
The rebel breakthrough occurred even as Congolese and Rwandan officials put pen to paper Thursday in Washington on an agreement that DRC presidential spokesperson Tina Salama described as addressing three critical objectives: ending violence in the east, restoring Congo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and dismantling illicit mineral supply chains that bankroll the conflict. The stark disconnect between diplomatic assurances and battlefield realities has deepened skepticism about whether international mediation can contain a war that has displaced millions and destabilized the mineral-rich Great Lakes region.
Congolese forces, fighting alongside Burundian troops and several local armed groups, have pulled back from contested areas, residents said. The retreat triggered a fresh wave of civilian displacement, with hundreds of families streaming into Uvira while others fled from Kamanyola, a strategic crossroads in the province, into Rwanda to escape artillery fire. Photographs distributed by Xinhua showed displaced children and families boarding buses bound for refugee camps in Bugarama, Rwanda, on December 5.
Uvira occupies a critical position on the transportation artery connecting Bukavu with Burundi and Tanzania. The town serves as a logistical hub for FARDC operations across the Ruzizi Plain, an area teeming with local and foreign armed factions. Loss of control over Uvira would sever supply lines and leave government forces vulnerable across a broad swath of South Kivu.
“If the rebels reach the outskirts of Uvira, the security impact would be considerable,” warned a Goma-based Congolese analyst who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the conflict. “South Kivu would effectively become a second epicenter of the conflict.”
The expansion of M23 operations into South Kivu represents a significant strategic shift. The group, which takes its name from a failed March 23, 2009 peace agreement, has long operated primarily in North Kivu Province. Its push southward suggests either a broadening of military objectives or increased confidence in its capacity to hold captured territory against government counteroffensives.
The violence unfolds against a backdrop of bitter diplomatic accusations between Kinshasa and Kigali. Congo has consistently accused Rwanda of providing military backing to M23, allegations that Kigali denies while countering that Congolese forces collaborate with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a group linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. These mutual recriminations have poisoned regional diplomacy for years, making sustainable peace agreements difficult to achieve or enforce.
The human toll continues to mount at catastrophic levels. United Nations figures show that more than 2.4 million people have been forcibly displaced since January 2025 alone, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons to nearly 6 million. An additional 1 million Congolese have sought refuge in neighboring countries, while 27 million people face severe food insecurity, according to Xinhua reporting originally published by English.news.
The humanitarian emergency reflects not just the immediate violence but the collapse of agricultural production, disruption of trade routes, and breakdown of basic services across eastern Congo. Displaced populations overwhelm host communities and strain resources in areas already struggling with poverty and weak infrastructure. The flow of refugees into Rwanda and other neighboring states creates additional regional tensions and complicates diplomatic efforts to resolve the underlying conflict.
The timing of the rebel advance, occurring virtually simultaneous with the Washington peace signing, raises uncomfortable questions about the sincerity of commitments made by the parties and whether external mediation can compel compliance from armed groups operating with apparent impunity in Congo’s eastern borderlands. The agreement’s third pillar, addressing illicit mineral supply chains, acknowledges the economic incentives driving the conflict. Eastern Congo’s vast deposits of coltan, gold, and other valuable minerals have long fueled armed groups, but enforcement mechanisms to cut off these revenue streams remain unclear.
Military analysts note that M23’s ability to sustain multi-front operations suggests access to steady supplies of weapons, ammunition, and logistical support that would be difficult to maintain without external backing. The group’s tactical sophistication and coordination across dispersed combat zones indicate command structures more elaborate than typical militia organizations.
As fighting continued into the weekend, the gap between diplomatic rhetoric and ground-level violence illustrated the immense challenge facing peacekeepers, humanitarian organizations, and regional governments attempting to stabilize eastern Congo. The displacement of civilians into Rwanda, ironically the country Congo accuses of sponsoring the rebels, underscores how desperate populations seek safety wherever they can find it, regardless of political complications.
Source: Xinhua/Africanews
