With the help of Rwandan-backed forces, according to military sources, M23 has entered the strategic border town of Uvira, which is also the last major town the militia has not captured in the eastern province of South Kivu.
M23 – which according to the UN is supported by Rwanda – is said to have launched its offensive at Uvira on December 1, and fighting was ongoing at the same time as the leaders of Congo-Kinshasa and Rwanda signed a new peace agreement in the presence of US President Donald Trump in Washington DC.
"Bombs are exploding in the mountains around us. Everyone is left to fend for themselves," a Uvira resident told AFP on Tuesday.
In the past week, 30,000 Congolese are reported to have made their way to neighboring Burundi, of which 8,000 have arrived since the weekend, Burundian authorities say. The figures are confirmed by UN sources.
These refugees have nothing, and we have nothing to give them to eat, says an official source.
