The Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused Rwanda of violating a newly signed peace agreement as the M23 armed group pressed its advance in South Kivu province, according to Al Jazeera.
President Felix Tshisekedi told lawmakers that Rwandan forces had carried out attacks in several locations after he and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed a deal in Washington on December 4. The accord was meant to help end years of conflict, but the fighting on the ground continued almost immediately.
The most urgent pressure point was Uvira, the last major urban centre in South Kivu not yet fallen to M23. AFP, as cited in the report, said hundreds of Congolese and allied Burundian troops had sought refuge inside Burundi as the group advanced. Reuters reported that M23 fighters had taken the village of Luvungi, and fighting was also reported in Sange between Uvira and Luvungi.
The report said as many as 36 people were killed in apparent bomb or grenade attacks in Sange, although that figure was tied to Reuters and described in the reporting as part of the wider clash picture. Burundi's foreign ministry also condemned what it said was an attack by Rwanda on its soil near Cibitoke that wounded two people, including a 12-year-old child.
The political response was just as sharp. There was no immediate comment from Rwanda on Tshisekedi's accusation, but the report said Kigali has repeatedly denied backing M23 and instead argues that it faces a threat from armed groups linked to the 1994 genocide. The U.S. State Department said it was deeply concerned by the violence and warned Rwanda, which it said continued to support M23, to prevent further escalation.
The war in eastern Congo has defeated many peace efforts before, and the new accord was already being tested almost as soon as it was signed. Al Jazeera said Washington was watching the situation closely, with one senior Trump administration official saying the U.S. was monitoring events in areas where actions on the ground did not yet match the commitments made.
For Congo, the immediate problem is that the peace deal is running up against a battlefield reality that has not paused. For Rwanda, the accusation is that it is violating an agreement it just signed. And for civilians in South Kivu, the advance on Uvira means the conflict remains dangerously alive even as diplomats describe it as something that has been addressed on paper.
