In three weeks, half a million people have fled their homes in South Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The M23 rebel group, backed by Rwandan forces according to UN reports, launched a major offensive on December 2nd. By December 9th, they had taken Uvira, the province's second-largest city.
M23 launches major offensive in South Kivu. Displacement begins.
M23 captures Uvira, the second-largest city in South Kivu, near the Burundian border.
Over 50,000 refugees identified in Burundi. Nearly half are children.
UNICEF reports 500,000 displaced in two weeks. UN warns of "regional conflagration."
ICRC reports 190+ wounded treated across hospitals in Uvira, Bukavu, and Fizi. Under US pressure, M23 announces it will withdraw from Uvira—the capture having violated the Washington Accords signed just days before.
M23 begins withdrawing forces. Sets conditions: demilitarization of Uvira, deployment of a neutral force, a 3-mile buffer zone. DRC government calls the withdrawal "a nonevent, a distraction."
UN Security Council condemns Rwanda and M23 for the offensive, urges Rwanda to withdraw troops from eastern DRC.
Fighting continues despite withdrawal announcement. 84,000+ refugees now in Burundi. Peace prospects remain uncertain.
Conditions at displacement sites are precarious. The rainy season compounds everything. Cholera is already present in the region. With overcrowding, mosquitoes, and lack of hygiene facilities, disease outbreaks are likely.
The hospitals still functioning have treated gunshot wounds, shrapnel injuries, and trauma. Uvira General Hospital alone treated 110 wounded in the first two weeks. Medical supplies are strained.
South Kivu has been unstable for decades, caught in overlapping conflicts involving armed groups, neighboring countries, and competition for mineral resources. The M23 (March 23 Movement) emerged in 2012, was defeated, and resurged in 2022. A UN group of experts has documented Rwandan military support for M23.
Bukavu, the provincial capital, fell to M23 in February 2025. Uvira was the provisional administrative center. Now it too is under rebel control. The government's authority in eastern DRC continues to erode.
December 23, 2025: Despite M23's announced withdrawal from Uvira, fighting continues in eastern DRC. The UN Security Council has condemned both Rwanda and M23, urging Rwanda to pull its troops from Congolese territory. The Washington Accords, signed just days before M23 took Uvira, are under severe strain.
Local residents are skeptical. "We don't care about politics," one Uvira resident told Al Jazeera. They just want peace. The M23 withdrawal came with conditions—a buffer zone, neutral forces—that the DRC government rejects as a diversion tactic.
Over 84,000 people have now fled to Burundi. More than 500,000 remain internally displaced. Humanitarian organizations are responding: ICRC has distributed water via tanker trucks and helped reunite unaccompanied children with their families. But the scale of displacement outpaces the response.
Organizations responding to the South Kivu crisis: