M23 consolidates control over Congo town in blow to peace talks

Congolese civilians eat at a reception center in Gatumba, a police camp near the border post that temporarily shelters people who fled renewed tensions between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), in Gatumba, Burundi, December 11, 2025. REUTERS/Evrard Ngendakumana

Dec 11 (Reuters) - The M23 rebel group consolidated control over the strategic town of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, residents said, as Kinshasa warned that the Rwanda-backed advance could derail U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to broker peace in the region.

The rebels' gains bring the conflict to the doorstep of neighbouring Burundi, which has had troops in eastern Congo for years, aggravating fears of further regional spillover of fighting that has already killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more since January.