Intense fighting rocked the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday as M23 rebel group rapidly advanced towards the strategic city of Uvira on the border with Burundi.
M23 were around 15 kilometres north of Uvira, compared to around 30 kilometres on Monday, security and military sources told AFP.
Locals described a state of growing panic as bombardments struck the hills above the city of several hundred thousand residents.
The renewed fighting comes just days after Kinshasa and Kigali signed a peace agreement at a ceremony presided over by US President Donald Trump.
Fighting near Burundi border
Fighting was also reported in Runingo, another small locality within 20 kilometres of Uvira, as the M23 and the Rwandan army closed in.
With Uvira sitting across Lake Tanganyika from its economic capital Bujumbura, Burundi views the prospect of the city falling to M23 as an existential threat.
It is the main sizeable locality in the region that is still to fall to the M23.
Burundi deployed about 10,000 soldiers to the eastern DRC in October 2023 as part of a military cooperation agreement, and security sources say reinforcements have since taken that presence to around 18,000 men.
US-brokered deal
The M23 and Rwandan forces launched their Uvira offensive on December 1.
Fighting in eastern DRC intensified early this year when M23 seized the key city of Goma in January, followed by Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, a few weeks later.
On Thursday, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame signed in Washington what Trump called a "miracle" deal to end the conflict.
The agreement includes an economic component intended to secure US supplies of critical minerals present in the region, as Washington seeks to challenge China's dominance in the sector.
Risk of conflict spillover
But even on the day of the signing, intense fighting took place in South Kivu, where Uvira is located, that included the bombing of houses and schools.
Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned in February there was a danger of the conflict escalating into a broader regional war, a fear echoed by the United Nations.
