M23 rebels have withdrawn from several areas of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the rebel group, sources confirmed to AFP on Monday.

M23 rebels launched an offensive in December 2025 on the city of Uvira, in the eastern province of South Kivu, at a time when the DRC and Rwanda were in the process of ratifying a peace deal under US mediation.

The group withdrew in January under pressure from Washington, which on Friday again said the belligerents should.

Early on Monday, M23 troops left several areas north of Uvira near the border with Burundi, Rwanda's southern neighbour, the armed group, local officials and the military said.

M23 retreat from Sange

The most important of these is the town of Sange, a major crossroads lying 30 kilometres north of Uvira.

Locals said pro-government fighters known as "wazalendo" had moved into Sange to take their place.

"M23 has withdrawn from Sange," senior local official Paul Fikiri Mudeda told AFP.

The army's spokesperson in the region, Lieutenant Reagan Mbuyi, said the M23 had retreated from Sange and the nearby areas of "Kabunambo... Mutarule and Bwegera."

Celebrations follow M23's exit

A security source within M23 confirmed the rebels had withdrawn from Sange and the surrounding area.

But it maintained its presence in Kamanyola, a town 70 kilometres north of Uvira, where the borders of the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi converge.

Locals said pro-government fighters "entered Sange on Monday" after the M23 left.

"There's a real sense of jubilation," one inhabitant told AFP. "Young people, women, children – even school kids – are all celebrating right now."

Fighting for control

For more than 30 years the mineral-rich eastern DRC has been a conflict hotspot for various armed groups, vying for control of its many mines.

Since 2021, the M23 has seized swathes of territory in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, bordering South Kivu.