Kigali, December 10, 2025 – Rwanda has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi of deliberately violating the ceasefire agreed in last week’s U.S.-brokered peace deal, claiming Congolese and Burundian forces launched systematic attacks on civilian areas near the Rwandan border using fighter jets and drones.
The accusation came as Rwandan-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Uvira in South Kivu province late Tuesday night, marking the latest major advance in a conflict that has already displaced millions in eastern DRC.
In a strongly worded statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry insisted that “the responsibility of the ceasefire violations, current attacks, and fighting in South Kivu province cannot be attributed to Rwanda.” It claimed the Congolese army (FARDC) and Burundian troops (FDNB) had been bombing villages close to the border, forcing M23 fighters to respond in self-defence.
The capture of Uvira, a key lakeside city of more than 600,000 people on Lake Tanganyika, is a severe blow to Kinshasa’s control of South Kivu. Thousands of civilians and dozens of Congolese soldiers fled across the border into Burundi as gunfire and explosions echoed through the night.
Burundi has been actively supporting the DRC against M23, with thousands of its troops deployed in the region. Local sources say Burundian forces suffered heavy casualties in the latest fighting and have begun withdrawing from some forward positions.
The renewed violence directly undermines the Washington agreement signed on December 4 by Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump, who described the deal as a “miracle.” The accord called for an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of Rwandan troops, demobilisation of M23 fighters, and joint economic projects aimed at securing U.S. access to the region’s vast mineral wealth.
Yet fighting never truly stopped. Even on the day of the signing ceremony, shelling was reported in several towns, killing civilians and destroying homes and schools.
On Tuesday, the United States and several European countries issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over the escalation and calling on M23 and Rwanda to immediately halt their offensive.
The fall of Uvira leaves Kinshasa with almost no remaining strongholds in South Kivu and raises the spectre of a wider regional conflict. Burundi has accused Rwanda of direct attacks on its territory, while Congo has repeatedly claimed that Rwanda is orchestrating the M23 advance to seize control of lucrative mining areas.
For the people of eastern DRC, the collapse of yet another peace agreement means more displacement, more suffering, and no end in sight to a war that has raged in various forms for nearly three decades.
As the international community scrambles to salvage the Washington deal, the streets of Uvira remain tense, with residents bracing for what may come next in one of Africa’s longest and deadliest conflicts.
