The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) has announced that it has agreed to withdraw its troops from the town of Uvira, in South Kivu Province, saying that the decision is a step to build trust and support peace talks.
This has been met with discontent among residents of Uvira, who have been staging protests demanding that the alliance’s troops not leave the town for days.
On social media and in public, various people have expressed their surprise at seeing the group liberate the town of Uvira, which has been under siege for some time.
In a statement issued on December 15, 2025, signed by its coordinator Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, AFC/M23 said that this decision is based on the progress made in the Doha negotiations, in particular the signing of the Doha Framework on November 15, 2025.
The statement states that this release of Uvira was approved at the request of the United States of America, aimed at finding a lasting solution to the conflict in eastern Congo.
Regional political expert Tite Gatabazi said that the withdrawal of AFC/M23 from the city is a major diplomatic victory for it.
He said, “First of all, I want to say that it has not abandoned the people of Uvira, agreeing to leave the city of Uvira, who have set their demands for the security of the people. Agreeing to leave the city of Uvira was requested by the mediator Qatar, which also negotiated with the United States. It is an acknowledgement that it is a diplomatic goal that AFC/M23 has won.”
He stressed that it is a way to show that AFC/M23 is not concerned with occupying territories but rather wants the problems of the Congolese who are being oppressed to be resolved.
