US Senator Graham expressed his disappointment when leaving AFC/M23 troops were attacked in the DR Congo
Senator Lindsey Graham of the United States expressed his sadness at the news that the Congolese army coalition is attacking AFC/M23 movement fighters that are leaving Uvira, a crucial town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that they took on December 10.
As part of a key confidence-building measure to advance the Doha Peace Process and find a long-term solution to the war in eastern DR Congo, the rebel organization announced earlier this week that it had started to evacuate its fighters from the town on Wednesday, December 17.
“I’m happy to hear that M23 troops are leaving Uvira in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sen. Graham posted on X, saying, “I am disheartened to hear these withdrawing troops are being attacked.”
“This morning, from 6:38 AM 19/12/2025 to now, Mikenke area is under heavy bombings by the Kinshasa Čime’s coalition forces,” stated Bertrand Bisimwa, the deputy coordinator of the AFCM23 insurrection, early on Friday, December 19.
Mikenke is located roughly 24 kilometers north of Minembwe town on the hauts plateaux (high plateaus) of the Fizi territory of South Kivu Province.
The AFC/M23 movement stated on December 13 that the Congolese coalition forces, with the Burundian army’s direct and active assistance, are still conducting a planned, methodical, and focused extermination operation against the Banyamulenge Tutsi civilian population in South Kivu Province.
According to AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, Sukhoi-25 fighter jets, combat helicopters, and military drones operating from neighboring Burundi “conducted indiscriminate aerial attacks against the densely populated Banyamulenge villages of Mikenke and Rwesankuku, in flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law” during the day on December 12 and the early hours of December 13.
“It’s really positive development to see the M23 troops withdrawing from Uvira, but it will be most positive to see Uvira and its people being secured from negative forces and their negative ideology,” Bisimwa stated on Friday, December 19.
Even though they withdrew, AFC/M23 had already issued a warning against what it called a trend in which the Congolese army coalition uses peace gestures to reclaim territory and attack people who are thought to have movement sympathies.
In their December 15 statement, the rebels said, “AFC/M23 calls on the guarantors of the peace process to establish adequate measures for the management of the city, including its demillitarization, the protection of its population and infrastructure, and the monitoring of the ceasefire through the deployment of a neutral force. This is in light of past experiences where FARDC, Wazalendo, and their allies have sought to take advantage of AFC/M23’s trust-building measures to retake previously lost territory and target the Alliance’s sympathizers.”
“Kinshasa continues to systematically eradicate our fellow citizens.”
AFC/M23 “has declared a unilateral ceasefire, in a spirit of responsibility and in order to offer a real chance for the return of peace,” rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka reaffirmed in another post on X.
In blatant disregard for all of its pledges, he continued, Kinshasa “persists in implementing its plan for the systematic extermination of our compatriots.”
According to Kanyuka, DR Congo coalition forces used naval forces and kamikaze drones to initiate strikes on heavily populated areas and rebel strongholds at Makobola on Friday, December 19, starting at 5:00 a.m. from Baraka.
He claimed that the same forces terrorized the civilian population by attacking Minembwe at 5:30 a.m. with heavy artillery and drones.
“The AFC/M23 calls upon the Congolese people and international partners to bear witness to these repeated and deliberate violations of the ceasefire, as well as to the continuation of the massacres of our compatriots,” Kanyuka continued. These actions clearly show that the Kinshasa administration is not interested in promoting peace or safeguarding people; instead, it continues to tolerate violence and impunity.
