South Kivu: AFC/M23 withdraws from several key positions around Uvira

AFC/M23 fighters, whom Kinshasa accuses of being supported by Rwanda, withdrew from several strategic positions in eastern South Kivu over the weekend, according to the Congolese army and a rebel official. Reuters describes this movement as the first significant change on the front in several months.

According to the same report, this retreat came after combined pressure from the Congolese army and the United States. Reuters points out that this development occurs within a context of increased US diplomatic pressure on the actors in the conflict in eastern DRC.

The withdrawal primarily concerns the Kabunambo area, located about 30 kilometers north of Uvira, with a retreat towards Luvungi, further north in the direction of Bukavu. Reuters also indicates that this movement is reminiscent of other withdrawals already observed under American pressure, particularly around Uvira.

Congolese civilians who had fled the violence to neighboring Burundi have begun returning, according to reports from Reuters. However, this return remains very fragile as fighting has not ceased in the east of the country despite mediation efforts supported by Washington and other international actors.

In a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and relayed by the AP, the political coordinator of the AFC/M23, Corneille Nangaa, accused the United States of lacking impartiality as a mediator, particularly because of their mining partnership concluded with Kinshasa.

Rwanda, for its part, continues to deny accusations by the United Nations and several Western governments that it supports the M23. Kigali claims that the presence of its troops in eastern Congo is aimed at the FDLR, an armed group linked to those responsible for the 1994 genocide, who subsequently took refuge in the DRC.

Mwandishi: Mecamedia Africa
Soma zaidi: www.Mecamediaafrica.com