"The fighters, which the United Nations and United States say are backed by Rwanda, have engaged in fierce battles with Congolese soldiers and their allied Wazalendo militias, which had been using Uvira as a base since M23 seized other regional capitals from the government's control earlier this year. The M23 offensive came just days after a regional peace agreement was signed in the US between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's Paul Kagame,"
"On the road there, we could see and smell the evidence of war: corpses strewn along the way, including soldiers and some civilians; burned-out carcasses of military vehicles; and groups of displaced people walking. While some were fleeing, many we spoke to were returning from Uvira back to the towns and cities they had fled when they came under attack in the past few weeks, as M23 made its way through territories towards Uvira."
Fighters from the M23 rebel group seized the strategic city of Uvira, displacing civilians and pushing out Congolese army forces and allied Wazalendo militias. The United Nations and the United States say Rwanda backs M23. The offensive occurred days after a regional peace agreement signed in the US and weeks after a separate accord in Qatar aimed at ending years of fighting. Roads into Uvira showed corpses, burned military vehicles, and displaced people. Some residents fled while others returned to towns they had abandoned earlier. Control of Uvira shifted as M23 advanced and then withdrew.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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