The AFC/M23 movement has announced a unilateral withdrawal of its forces from Uvira, a move it referred to as a major confidence-building step aimed at advancing the Doha Peace Process and achieving a lasting solution to the conflict in eastern DR Congo. In a statement released on December 15, AFC/M23 said the decision follows “significant progress” under the Doha Peace Process, including the signing of the Doha Framework Agreement on November 15, 2025. “The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) has decided to initiate a unilateral trust-building measure in order to give the Doha Peace Process the maximum chance to succeed in providing lasting solutions to the conflict,” the statement reads. Uvira, a key commercial and transport hub on the shores of Lake Tanganyika near the Burundi border, had come under AFC/M23 control during recent fighting in South Kivu. Despite announcing the withdrawal, AFC/M23 warned against what it described as a pattern in which the Congolese army (FARDC) and its allied militias exploit peace gestures to retake territory and target civilians accused of sympathising with the movement. The movement also addressed regional security concerns, particularly the presence of armed groups hostile to Burundi operating in eastern Congo. “AFC/M23 reiterates that it will not allow such groups to use liberated areas as rear bases for any hostile acts likely to undermine good-neighbourly relations between our two countries,” the statement read.
