DRC TAKES BACK EASTERN CITY FROM RWANDA

Congolese forces have retaken the strategic lakeside city of Uvira, near the border with Burundi, after Rwandan-backed M23 rebels withdrew from the town. The move follows days of pressure by local militias and elite Congolese units, who entered southern districts before special forces secured key areas. Residents poured into the streets to celebrate the rebels’ departure, offering a rare moment of relief in a region long defined by conflict.

Uvira sits on vital trade routes along Lake Tanganyika, making its control crucial for regional security and cross-border commerce. The city had fallen during a Rwandan-backed rebel offensive in early December, despite a US-mediated peace deal that had come days earlier.

Eastern Congo has endured decades of violence that has killed and displaced millions, a crisis the United Nations ranks among the deadliest in the world. Regional tensions involving Rwanda, Uganda, and other neighbours continue to shape the battlefield, alongside the immense economic stakes tied to the area’s vast mineral wealth. The region holds major deposits of coltan, cobalt, and other resources essential to global technology supply chains.

For Kinshasa, the push to reclaim Uvira is part of a broader, town-by-town effort to reassert sovereignty over territory scarred by armed groups and foreign interference. While the flag now flies again over this border city, peace in eastern Congo remains elusive, and the struggle for stability and control over its people and resources continues.