KINSHASA, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have not withdrawn from the eastern Congolese town of Uvira despite an announcement earlier this week that they would pull back, residents told Reuters on Wednesday.
M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma told Reuters on Wednesday that "we are ready to leave (Uvira), but our conditions have to be reviewed". The spokesperson added that the citizens of Uvira needed protecting and it should be occupied by a neutral force.
The rebels had said on Monday they would withdraw to help efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Qatar to mediate peace in the long-running war between the rebels and government forces in Democratic Republic of Congo.
M23 entered Uvira, near the Burundi border, earlier this month, less than a week after the presidents of Congo and Rwanda met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington to reaffirm their commitment to the Washington Accords peace agreement. The U.S. has criticized seizure of the town as a threat to mediation efforts.
Corneille Nangaa, head of the Congo River Alliance, which includes M23, said on Monday on X the withdrawal would be a "unilateral trust-building measure in order to give the Doha peace process the maximum chance to succeed".
However, Congo's communications minister Patrick Muyaya dismissed the announcement of a withdrawal from Uvira as a "diversion," alleging it was an attempt to relieve pressure on Rwanda, which Kinshasa, the United Nations, and Western governments accuse of backing the rebels. Rwanda denies backing M23.
"The intention is to distract the American mediation team, which is preparing to take measures against Rwanda," Muyaya told Reuters on Wednesday.
Rwanda's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Congo's army spokesperson, Sylvain Ekenge, said fighting continued daily across the conflict-hit east.
"There isn't a day without fighting in North Kivu and South Kivu," Ekenge told Reuters, referring to the provinces where M23 staged a lightning advance this year.
Rwanda, which says its troops are in eastern Congo for what it calls defensive measures, has rejected claims of supporting M23 and has blamed Congolese and Burundian forces for escalating violence.
RESIDENTS SAY FIGHTERS ARE VISIBLE AROUND TOWN
Residents of Uvira said M23 fighters remained visible in the town on Wednesday, stationed near government offices and along major roads.
"The rebels... do not want to leave," Jean Jacques Purusi, governor of South Kivu province, told Reuters.
"They are everywhere, from the Kavimvira roundabout to the city's three districts and even the port of Kalundu," one resident said.
"Nothing has changed since the M23's last statement on its withdrawal from the city," a Reuters witness said.
(Reporting by Congo newsroom and Sonia RolleyWriting by Ayen Deng BiorEditing by Frances Kerry)
