The M23 armed group says it will pull its forces from Uvira in eastern DRC following a US request, aiming to support the Doha peace process.
GOMA: The M23 armed group has announced it will withdraw from the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The militia said it agreed to a request from United States mediators for a unilateral pullout.
The Rwanda-backed group seized the key city near the Burundi border just last week.
That advance came days after Congolese and Rwandan governments signed a Washington peace deal.
The M23’s capture of Uvira had cast doubt on that agreement’s future and raised fears of a wider regional war.
The group “will unilaterally withdraw its forces from the city of Uvira, as requested by the US mediators”, it stated.
The statement was signed by the group’s coordinator, Corneil Nangaa.
It called for “adequate measures” to manage the city post-withdrawal.
These include “demilitarisation, protecting its population and infrastructure, and monitoring the ceasefire with a neutral force”.
The M23 also urged implementation of a parallel ceasefire framework negotiated in Doha.
That Qatar-brokered deal was agreed in November but never respected on the ground.
The militia said its withdrawal is a gesture “to instil trust in order to give the Doha peace process every chance to succeed”.
The mineral-rich east of the DRC has been ravaged by three decades of conflict. – AFP
