The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday described the recent offensive carried out in the Uvira region bordering Burundi by the Rwandan army alongside the armed group M23 as "a blatant act of aggression", accusing it of having caused "more than 1,500 civilian deaths".

After seizing Goma and Bukavu, the two major cities in eastern DRC, in early 2025, the M23 group, supported by the Rwandan army, launched a new offensive in the province of South Kivu in December and took control on December 10 of Uvira, a strategic town of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, and of all the areas along the land border between the DRC and Burundi.

Under American pressure, the M23 announced on December 17 its withdrawal from Uvira, while asking the mediation to "ensure that Uvira is protected from violence and remilitarization".

"The provisional death toll for civilians from Rwandan operations, which have involved bombs and kamikaze drones on the Kamanyola-Uvira axis since the beginning of December, stands at more than 1,500," the DRC government said in a statement received by AFP on Thursday.

"More than 500,000 displaced people" have been registered in the region, following this breakthrough by the M23, the government continues.

He denounces "the illegal occupation of his territory by Rwandan forces" and the "deliberate and continuous expansion of the occupied areas in the east of the country, particularly in the city of Uvira and its surroundings, with a marked progression towards the south", seeing it as "a clear Rwandan aggression".

The DRC authorities also claim that "three new Rwandan battalions" have arrived in South Kivu, with the objective of "a descent towards Fizi", a locality located 150 km south of Uvira, via an axis along the shore of Lake Tanganyika, then "an advance" towards Kalemie, capital of the neighbouring province of Tanganyika, another 250 km further south.

This province of Tanganyika constitutes the northeastern part of the former great southern province of Katanga, the mining heart of the DRC and the state's treasure trove thanks to taxes imposed on mining companies.

State vault

On Thursday, local sources told AFP that police officers and plainclothes agents of the M23 were still present in the city of Uvira, despite the armed group's announcement of its withdrawal. "We live with them and collaborate with them," said a resident employed by a security service, reached by telephone.

Earlier this week, the Congolese army (FARDC) claimed to have retaken some localities around Uvira after "fierce fighting".

His spokesperson, General Sylvain Ekenge, had mentioned on public television on Sunday a Rwandan "infiltration strategy" using "Tutsi women." He has since been suspended following the controversy sparked by these remarks, the government indicated.

Kigali has never admitted to supporting the M23, but was directly accused by Washington after the capture of Uvira.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz denounced in December "the scale and sophistication" of Rwanda's involvement in eastern DRC, accusing it of having deployed between 5,000 and 7,000 soldiers there.

UN experts have been pointing to Rwanda's military involvement in the conflicts ravaging the DRC for years. The M23 denies any link with Kigali and claims its objective is to overthrow DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.