The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group says it has captured hundreds of Burundian soldiers during its ongoing offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, even as fighting persists despite warnings from the Trump administration.
M23 forces seized control of Uvira, a strategic town near the Burundi border, last week—less than a week after the presidents of Congo and Rwanda met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington and pledged commitment to the Washington Accords peace agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on Saturday that Rwanda’s actions in eastern Congo breached the Washington Accords, vowing to “take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept.”
Rwanda has consistently denied backing M23 and attributes the renewed violence to Congolese and Burundian forces. However, a United Nations expert panel report released in July confirmed that Rwanda exercises command and control over the rebel group.
“We have several hundred Burundian soldiers with us whom we captured during combat, and we intend to return them home,” Patrick Busu Bwa Ngwi, M23’s appointed governor of South Kivu province, announced at a Saturday press conference.
Busu Bwa Ngwi stated that Burundi must submit an official request for their return, adding that M23 wants all Burundian troops “to leave our territory and return home in peace.”
Burundi, which has maintained a military presence in eastern Congo for years, had not responded by Monday.
M23 launched a rapid offensive in January, swiftly capturing eastern Congo’s two largest cities in combat that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
The insurgents have since established a parallel administration in the east, potentially creating a lasting division in the vast Central African nation.
Congo holds vast mineral wealth, producing approximately 70 percent of the world’s cobalt along with substantial quantities of tin, tantalum, and tungsten.
The Trump administration anticipates that a future peace settlement could facilitate major Western mining investments in eastern Congo.
Busu Bwa Ngwi warned on Saturday that rebels would not hesitate to advance southward into Katanga province, which contains significant cobalt and copper reserves, to halt alleged civilian abuses by Congolese forces.
A local government-appointed official told Reuters on Monday that Congo’s military and allied forces had withdrawn from Makobola, located 12 kilometers south of Uvira, and were regrouping to attempt to reclaim lost areas.
An M23 source confirmed to Reuters that rebels now occupy Makobola.
International charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) announced on Friday it was suspending operations in Baraka, approximately 100 kilometres south of Uvira, “in response to escalating violence and threats posed by the conflict.”
