Incidents of looting, gunfire shots and civilian displacement were reported in Uvira city in eastern DR Congo, following the withdrawal of the AFC/M23 movement, with disturbing images and videos circulating on social media.

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Videos shared on social media on Sunday, January 18, showed terrified civilians scattering through the city centre amid sustained gunshots. In one video, a man filming can be heard shouting, "These are Wazalendo, they have entered,” as residents, reportedly Banyamulenge, flee in different directions in search of safety.

Other visuals show groups of young men in civilian clothing, identified by locals as Wazalendo militia members, breaking into buildings and carrying away property. Among the targeted sites is the 37ème CADC Church, communauté des Assemblées de Dieu au Congo, a Banyamulenge place of worship in Kimanga, where chairs, timber, iron sheets and other materials were being taken, with parts of the roof dismantled.

The church is led by pastors including Budederi Bigabo, who, according to later reports, was abducted from his residence together with his wife hours after the looting. Their whereabouts remaining unknown.

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The Wazalendo militia is allied to the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), alongside Burundian troops, the Congolese-backed Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR, mercenaries, Mai Mai groups and other local militias. They are returning to Uvira just days after AFC/M23 said on January 15 they had withdrawn from the city. The city had been captured by the rebels on December 10.

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The AFC/M23 began withdrawing from the city on December 17, describing the move as a confidence-building step intended to support the Doha Peace Process and pave the way for a lasting settlement to the conflict in eastern DR Congo. The final phase of the withdrawal was formally communicated to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by the movement’s political coordinator, Corneille Nangaa, who called for the urgent deployment of a neutral force to prevent reprisals against civilians.

In a statement posted on X, the movement blamed the chaotic situation in Uvira on "the madness of the Kinshasa regime, through its criminal militias Wazalendo, Mai Mai and FDLR.”

The movement said it had formally placed Uvira under the responsibility of the international community as an act of political responsibility intended to safeguard civilians and reinforce the Doha peace efforts.

"This gesture was meant as a signal of good faith, a bet on the protection of civilians, on the hope of the Doha peace processes, on the ceasefire and lasting peace,” the statement said, adding that the calm experienced during its presence in the city had been abruptly shattered after its withdrawal.

The AFC/M23 warned against the militias&039; return to Uvira. "Their entry into the city did not bring order, but fear. Not protection, but predation. Not peace, but violence,” the group said, citing forced shop openings, gunfire in residential areas and terrified families fleeing their homes.

Rebel leader Nangaa said the unfolding events confirmed warnings the movement had issued prior to its withdrawal.

"What we feared has now become reality: score settling, looting of public and private property, manhunts, targeted killings, forced displacement of the Tutsi Banyamulenge community and others,” Nangaa wrote on X.

He added that "chaos was predictable, and yet everyone had been warned,” noting that proposed accompanying measures were ignored.

Moise Nyarugabo, a former Congolese minister and senator, blamed international pressure on the rebels for the security vacuum that followed their pullout. In a post on X, Nyarugabo said AFC/M23 and Twirwaneho had fully withdrawn during the night of Saturday and early hours of Sunday, but no effective arrangements were made to prevent the violent militias from entering the city.

"In pressuring and insisting, not to mention threatening, they (international community) did not consider the consequences, They did not prevent the Wazalendo or the FARDC from entering the city,” Nyarugabo wrote.

"While there were no attacks against civilians or reprisals when AFC/M23 captured Uvira, just hours after this withdrawal, the Wazalendo returned to the city. What was feared has come to pass, and the international community was well warned.”

He reported ongoing "systematic looting and malicious destruction” targeting Banyamulenge homes and churches, as well as public institutions including the High Court and state-owned companies. According to Nyarugabo, hundreds of Banyamulenge households have fled Uvira amid circulating death threats.