M23 Rebels Start Withdrawing from Key Eastern DR Congo Villages

(MENAFN) AFC/M23 rebel forces have begun withdrawing from multiple positions across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, local media reported Friday, in what authorities are describing as a tentative step toward stability in one of Africa's most volatile conflict zones.

According to Radio Okapi, citing security sources, the pullback commenced Monday, with fighters vacating villages they had held for more than a year across North Kivu's Lubero territory. The rebels were reported to have relocated to staging areas around Alimbongo, Kirumba, and Kanyabayonga following their exit from Lunyasenge, Bukununu, Musiya, Katondi, and Kipese.

North Kivu Governor Evariste Kakule Somo confirmed the development Thursday during remarks to local media in Lubero town, telling reporters he had witnessed an "effective withdrawal" from multiple areas. He called on residents to remain composed, framing the rebel movement as part of the "implementation of peace agreements, particularly the US-brokered peace accords."

The withdrawal follows a diplomatic breakthrough on Dec. 4, 2025, when Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame inked what was described as a "historic" peace and economic agreement designed to end the protracted bloodshed in Congo's east. That deal itself built on an earlier framework brokered by US President Donald Trump in June of last year.

Yet the ground reality remains deeply unstable. Local sources warn that recent clashes between AFC/M23 fighters and Congolese government forces have left the security environment precarious.

M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka escalated tensions Friday with a post on X — the US social media platform — accusing the national army and pro-government militias of launching overnight drone strikes on rebel-held areas. He alleged that "kamikaze drones" had targeted the Mikenke locality and surrounding zones.

Kanyuka claimed the strikes killed two people and wounded one, asserting that "these massacres occur despite the effective implementation of confidence-building measures by the AFC/M23." Kinshasa had issued no official response to those allegations as of Friday.

The AFC/M23 movement sits at the heart of eastern Congo's long-running crisis. The rebel group — which Western governments and UN experts allege receives backing from neighboring Rwanda, a charge Kigali denies — controls vast swaths of eastern Congo, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, both seized in early 2025.

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