The Congolese army said on Monday it had retaken control of the strategic city of Uvira after the M23 rebels withdrew.

M23 launched an offensive in early December in South Kivu province in eastern DRC and seized Uvira, a city of several hundred thousand people on the border with Burundi, just after the DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement overseen by US President Donald Trump.

On December 17, the rebel group said it was pulling its troops out of Uvira, claiming to be responding to a US request, but M23 agents remained in the lakeside city.

On Thursday, the M23 said it planned to withdraw its remaining forces from Uvira and declared its intention to place the city "under the full and entire responsibility of the international community."

Army deployment continues

Local sources then reported troop movements on Saturday as M23 units left the city.

Congolese army (FARDC) spokesperson Mak Hazukay announced the city's full takeover in a statement on Monday.

The FARDC will "continue their deployment in the city of Uvira and its surroundings in order to consolidate their positions", the statement added.