Francine Uwamahoro fled to Rwanda at beginning of December when her hometown of Kamanyola in eastern DR Congo became a battleground between the AFC/M23 rebel alliance and the Congolese government coalition that includes Burundian troops.
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Within 10 days of fighting the rebels had secured Kamanyola and captured multiple towns before they announced the fall of Uvira, a strategic city in South Kivu province.
Uvira had been the government stronghold and the seat of the provincial leadership since February when the rebels captured Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu. The fall of Uvira was a relief for the refugees, who are now hosted at the Nyarushishi Transit Camp in Rusizi District.
"Of course, we will go back home because there’s peace wherever M23 has captured," Uwamahoro told The New Times on Thursday, December 11.
The 30-year-old mother of five said this a day after the AFC/M23 said they had taken control of Uvira, which is about 75 kilometres from Kamanyola.
"Where they control, you don’t hear gunshots, no bombs, no fleeing. There’s no looting. There’s just enough security."
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Like Uwamahoro, other residents of Kamanyola said living under AFC/M23 control was much safer than under government forces FARDC. The town was controlled by AFC/M23 for 10 months until the recent hostilities broke out at the beginning of December, with the rebels fighting the FARDC that had the backing of Burundian troops and local militia groups known as Wazalendo.
"M23 didn’t cause us any problems," said Thomas Mutabazi, 68, who also comes from Kamanyola.
"They didn’t beat, arrest or rob anyone. They did none of that. They just ensured there was security for the population."
ALSO READ: AFC/M23 rebels enter Uvira in biggest advance since February
Mutabazi said under the AFC/M23 the residents did regular community cleanup activities, locally known as Salongo and went about their daily businesses.
"We wished that the residents of Uvira could also have peace like us in the liberated areas," he said.
"But in Uvira, they didn’t any peace because they were troubled by Wazalendo and FARDC, who even fought amongst themselves and caused a lot of insecurity. They need to be liberated and have some peace.
"When they (M23) arrived in Uvira, they were welcomed with cheers. Once the people are fully liberated, they will feel relieved and enjoy the peace."
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For Jeannette Bembeleza, a resident of Katogota, a locality near Kamanyola town, the blockade imposed by Burundian troops in South Kivu had separated families who lived between the small towns and Uvira.
"We could not travel anywhere; we just stayed in Katogota and Kamanyola. If you needed to buy something, you could only go to Kamanyola. You wouldn’t go to Luvungi or Uvira," said the 37-year-old.
"If they have liberated Uvira, we can now go to see our relatives, even those in Lubarika, all of them. I just want there to be peace so that we can move freely. We had so much sadness when the Burundians closed by the roads. I just can&039;t wait to see the cars move on the tarmac once again."
More than 1,000 people fled recently from Kamanyola to Rwanda, which already hosts over 100,000 refugees from eastern DR Congo, some of whom have lived in camps for nearly three decades.
While hundreds of them are still hosted at Nyarushishi Transit Camp, some said they wanted to return to their homes and start rebuilding their livelihoods again.
"We fled because of the war," said Bahati Ombeni, whose house was hit by a bomb before she and her three children fled to Rwanda.
"Now that different localities have been liberated, all we want is to be supported to return home to peace.