M23 rebels reportedly enter Uvira despite Donald Trump’s peace deal

Rebels have entered the last government-controlled city in mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, residents say, in an offensive that has forced thousands to flee across the border into Burundi.

Heavy shelling and gunfire could be heard in Uvira, and frightened residents described the situation as chaotic.

Fighting escalates despite US President Donald Trump brokering peace deal last week President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to end the long-standing conflict.

The M23 rebel group said it had “liberated” the city, while the U.N.-backed Okapi Radio quoted residents as saying rebel fighters were present on the main streets.

However, South Kivu governor Jean-Jacques Prussi told local media that the army and allied militias still controlled the city, which is just 27 kilometers (17 miles) from Burundi’s capital Bujumbura and across Lake Tanganyika.

Agence France-Presse quoted Burundian military sources as saying that Burundi has closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A resident told the BBC that armed M23 militants entered Uvira from the northeast in single columns on Wednesday without encountering resistance.

Some residents cheered their arrival, the resident said.

The city is on lockdown, with shops and schools closed as most people stay indoors.

One resident told AFP: “Three bombs just exploded on the hill. Everyone is looking out for themselves.” Another added: “We are all under the bed in Uvira – this is the reality.”

A local human rights official told The Associated Press there was a “risk of massacre” if the remaining soldiers put up strong resistance.

“It’s chaos and no one is responsible. Uvira is finished,” a Burundian official told AFP.

Military and security sources said the rebel fighters were advancing from the north near the border with Burundi.

Burundi has thousands of troops supporting the government in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its leader, Évariste Ndayishimiye, flew to Washington last week to observe the signing of the peace deal that Trump hailed as a “miracle.”

Burundi’s Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana called the M23’s progress “a slap … in the middle finger” to Washington’s efforts to broker a peace deal.

“Signing the deal and not implementing it would be a shame for everyone, first of all for President Trump,” he told AFP, adding that they had seen “several trucks full of soldiers” arriving from Rwanda for reinforcements.

On Tuesday, the United States, the European Union and eight European countries accused Rwanda of backing the rebel offensive and called for an immediate end to the fighting

In a joint statement, they expressed “deep concern” about the violence, which they said “has the potential to destabilize the entire region.”

They urged the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) to “immediately cease offensive operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo” and called for its troops to withdraw from the area.

A U.S. State Department spokesman said Rwanda “continues to provide support to M23 (and) must prevent further escalation of the situation.”

But Rwanda denies involvement in the fighting and accuses the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government and Burundi of violating a ceasefire agreement.

Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday that ceasefire violations “cannot be blamed on Rwanda” and said Congolese and Burundian troops “systematically” bombed villages near the Rwandan border.

United Nations experts said The Rwandan army “de facto controls the movements of M23.”

The United Nations says some 200,000 people have fled their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the latest round of fighting began earlier this month.

At least 74 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and 83 people were injured and taken to hospitals, the report said.

A Burundian administrative source told AFP that more than 8,000 people had arrived each day in the past two days, and 30,000 in a week.

The latest offensive comes nearly a year after M23 rebels took control of Goma and Bukavu, two other major cities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

M23 is not part of the U.S.-brokered peace deal and is in separate talks with the DRC government in a Qatar-led mediation effort.

In an address to the nation on Monday, Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of “willfully violating” the peace agreement.

“This is a proxy war aimed at challenging our sovereignty over a highly strategic region rich in critical minerals and economic potential that is vital to our country’s future,” Tshisekedi said.

Rwanda has accused Congolese and Burundian forces of bombing villages near its border, forcing more than 1,000 civilians to flee into its territory.

The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been ravaged by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Several peace agreements since the 1990s have collapsed.

Numerous armed groups compete with central authorities for power and control of the vast country’s potential wealth.

Additional reporting by Richard Kagoe