The New Times – The AFC/M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo on Wednesday, December 10, confirmed the capture of Uvira, a strategic city that has been the major stronghold for the government army coalition for months.
Rebel fighters entered Uvira on Tuesday after more than a week of heavy fighting with the government coalition that includes Burundian troops and local militias groups known as Wazalendo, genocidal FDLR militia (linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda) and foreign mercenaries.
However, there was no reports of fighting in the city that is on the border with Burundi.
Uvira, just 27 kilometres from Burundi, becomes the third major city to fall under AFC/M23 control, after Goma and Bukavu, the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu, respectively.
Congolese soldiers and their allies had started to flee fighting on Monday and Tuesday in areas around the city, where the South Kivu provincial government relocated when Bukavu was captured in February.
“Today, the threat has been lifted, and we confirm that the city of Uvira is now liberated,” AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said in post on Wednesday afternoon.
“The AFC/M23 informs the public that, for more than three months, it has been denouncing the spread of hate speech, attacks targeting our compatriots because of their appearance, as well as massacres committed in areas [controlled] by the coalition forces of the Kinshasa regime and their ally, Burundi.”
Kanyuka called on residents “to resume their activities with complete peace of mind: the AFC/M23 is present to ensure their protection.”
He also urged refugees and internally displaced people to return to their homes.
Videos circulating on social media showed fighters of the rebel movement walking in the streets of Uvira. Earlier reports had said Congolese soldiers and their allies could not be seen in the city centre.
The rebels now control a borderline of more 400 kilometres from Bunagana town at the border with Uganda to Goma and Bukavu borders with Rwanda and now Uvira that is on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, which is shared by DR Congo, Burundi and Tanzania.
In the recent fighting on this axis, the Burundian army seemed to have assumed the leadership of the Congolese coalition operations, launching air attacks from inside the Burundian territory in the battle for Kamanyola, another town on the border with Rwanda.
The battle that started at the beginning of December led to fatalities and displacement of thousands of civilians. Hundreds crossed into Rwanda last week, many sharing hallowing tales of abuses by the coalition partners.
After retaining control of Kamanyola on Saturday, the AFC/M23 marched south towards Uvira capturing town after town in the Ruzizi plain. Key towns that were captured in recent days include Luvungi, Luberizi, Sange and Kiliba, which was the last stop before the rebels entered Uvira.
The government coalition has been accused of committing attrocities against civilian populations, especially Rwandophone communities in and around Uvira.