Hundreds who fled war in DR Congo to Uvira now face new struggles under M23 control

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 02:28:00 +0000

(15 Dec 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Uvira, DR Congo – 14 December 2025
1. Wide of Uvira city
2. Various of displaced Congolese Riziki Julienne
3. Mid of Julienne with her host family
4. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Riziki Julienne, displaced Congolese:
“We left Lubarika at 11 a.m. (two weeks ago) and arrived in Luberizi where the children were exhausted. We spent the night there. We left for Sange where there was also gunfire and bombing, which forced us to flee on foot to where we are now.”
5. Wide of displacement camp in Uvira
6. Various of displaced Congolese, Bernadette Shalulo
7. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Bernadette Shalulo, displaced Congolese:
“We fled (our village) because of the bombs, because there were more of them than bullets. As we fled, we saw dead people, others who had lost their feet or hands. Some had their legs cut off all along the road until we arrived here.”
8. Various of people in camp
9. Wide of displaced Congolese, Kajur Jiyoka, sitting down near shelter
10. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Kajur Jiyoka, displaced Congolese:
“We have a problem feeding ourselves because we fled without any food, blankets, or sheets. Now we have sheets thanks to these brothers (the inhabitants of Uvira) who gave us tarpaulins that we spread out to sleep on. We are going through great difficulties.”
11. Various weapons collected by M23 fighters
12. SOUNDBITE (French) Lawrence Kanyuka, M23 spokesperson:
“Today, with our friends (M23 fighters), we started collecting these weapons in the morning, and in the evening we count the number of weapons collected to see how many we have today. Yesterday, it was 125 and 25 (weapons). It is the population that invites us (to come and collect the weapons abandoned by the Congolese army) and the population trusts us.”
13. Tilt up of gun
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of people fleeing the war between M23 rebels and the Congolese army have found refuge in the city of Uvira.

The city, which was the Congo government’s last major foothold in South Kivu province after the provincial capital of Bukavu fell to the rebels in February, has since fallen to the Rwanda-backed M23 group, as fighting in the region escalates despite a U.S. mediated peace deal.

Riziki Julienne, a mother of seven, found refuge with a family in Uvira.

“We left Lubarika at 11 a.m. (two weeks ago) and arrived in Luberizi where the children were exhausted. We spent the night there. We left for Sange where there was also gunfire and bombing, which forced us to flee on foot to where we are now,” Julienne said.

In the camp for displaced people in Uvira, those who have fled the fighting shared the horrors they said they saw on the roads leading to the city.

“As we fled, we saw dead people, others who had lost their feet or hands,” said Bernadette Shalulo.

M23 said it took control of Uvira last week, following a rapid offensive launched at the start of the month.

Along with the more than 400 people killed, about 200,000 have been displaced, regional officials say.

Even though there are no longer clashes between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels in Uvira, residents say the humanitarian situation remains worrying.

M23 fighters said they were trying to restore security by collecting weapons abandoned by the Congolese army as it fled.

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