Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have withdrawn from several frontline towns in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo without fighting, local leaders and humanitarian sources said Thursday.
The quiet retreat unfolded across parts of Lubero territory, where residents awoke to empty streets after months living under armed group control and uncertainty.
Since late 2021, the M23 movement, backed by Rwanda and its military according to Kinshasa and international observers, has seized extensive territory in Congo’s mineral-rich east.
The region has endured more than three decades of violence, with shifting alliances and armed groups trapping civilians in cycles of displacement, fear, and fragile survival.
A US-brokered peace agreement signed last December between Congo and Rwanda raised hopes of stability, yet fighting has persisted despite diplomatic commitments and negotiations.
Delegations from both countries met in Washington on March 17 and 18, agreeing to concrete measures intended to accelerate implementation of the fragile accord.
Civil society leader Jackson Kasonia said M23 fighters withdrew overnight between March 23 and 24 from Kipese village and nearby communities along Lake Edward’s shores.
Local militias aligned with the Congolese government have since entered some abandoned areas, filling a security vacuum left by the rebels’ sudden departure.
In Katondi, south of Lubero’s urban centre, residents reported waking to an unexpected absence of rebel forces, though uncertainty continues to shadow daily life.
“They may be in camps in the hills; we are afraid to go and check,” local civil society representative Augustin Kataliko said by telephone.
The Kivu Security Barometer reported that M23 fighters have left at least twelve villages in Lubero territory since early this week, citing field monitoring.
M23 members described the withdrawals as a routine troop rotation but declined to provide further explanations about their movements or future military intentions.
Despite limited frontline shifts, clashes continue regularly between M23 fighters, allied militias, and Congolese forces across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
Recent fighting has concentrated in South Kivu’s highlands near Minembwe, where opposing forces have battled for months over strategic control and influence.