Rwanda-backed M23 rebels say they will withdraw from seized city in eastern Congo

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said Tuesday they will withdraw from Uvira, the strategic city in eastern Congo seized last week, as fighting in the region escalated despite a U.S.-mediated peace deal.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, which includes M23, said the withdrawal was requested by the U.S. and is a “unilateral trust-building measure” to facilitate the peace process.

The statement also called for the demilitarization of Uvira, the protection of its population and infrastructure, and the monitoring of the ceasefire through the deployment of a neutral force. It did not say whether M23’s withdrawal is contingent on implementing these measures.

Uvira residents said Tuesday that the rebels were still in the town.

M23 took control of the city last week following a rapid offensive launched at the start of the month. More than 400 people have been killed about 200,000 displaced, regional officials say.

The rebels’ latest offensive comes despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed earlier this month by the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Washington.

The U.S. last week accused Rwanda of violating the agreement by backing the new rebel advance in the mineral-rich eastern Congo, and warned that the Trump administration will take action against “spoilers” of the deal.

The accord didn’t include the rebel group, which is negotiating separately with Congo and agreed earlier this year to a ceasefire that both sides accuse the other of violating. However, the accord obliges Rwanda to halt support for armed groups like M23 and work to end hostilities.

The rebel push into Uvira brought the conflict to the doorstep of neighboring Burundi, which has maintained troops in eastern Congo for years, heightening fears of a broader regional spillover.

Around 64,000 refugees from Congo have arrived in Burundi since the start of the month, according to the U.N. refugee agency. There have also been reports of shells falling in the town of Rugombo, on the Burundian side of the border.

Congo, the U.S. and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the U.N.

More than 100 armed groups are vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo, near the border with Rwanda, most prominently M23. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, according to the U.N. agency for refugees.

Burundian citizens who work in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and could not cross back into their home country due to fighting, cross the border into Burundi, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Burundian citizens who work in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and could not cross back into their home country due to fighting, cross the border into Burundi, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Burundian citizens who work in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and could not cross back into their home country due to fighting, cross the border into Burundi, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Burundian citizens who work in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and could not cross back into their home country due to fighting, cross the border into Burundi, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Burundian citizens who work in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and could not cross back into their home country due to fighting, cross the border into Burundi, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — With the Brown University shooter still on the loose Tuesday, police fanned out to Providence schools to reassure parents, kids and teachers as investigators pushed for new evidence that might help them crack the case.

Here's a look at what to know about the attack and the search:

Police have released five videos of the man suspected in Saturday's attack in an engineering building classroom, where two students were killed and nine others were wounded. None of the videos showed the man's face, which was either turned away or masked. But three videos released Monday provided the clearest images yet of the suspect, whom the FBI described as stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.

Authorities on Sunday released a person of interest after determining he wasn't behind the attack, which happened in a first-floor classroom where students were cramming for an exam.

The gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

One of the wounded students, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room. Many students ran toward the front, but Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg. He expected to be discharged within days.

The students who died were MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, and Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Umurzokov was an aspiring neurosurgeon and Cook was a student leader of Brown's campus Republicans.

As of Sunday, one of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital, one was in critical condition and seven others were in critical but stable condition, university President Christina Paxson said. Their conditions hadn't worsened as of Monday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said, adding that he didn’t have further information.

Authorities on Monday asked neighborhood residents and businesses for surveillance video that might help identify the attacker. They have said that one reason they lacked video of the shooter was because Brown’s engineering building doesn’t have many cameras.

Investigators were still performing basic investigative tasks days after the shooting, leaving some students and locals frustrated by the police response.

Kristy dosReis, a Providence police spokeswoman, said that at no point did the investigation stand down even after officials appeared to have a breakthrough in the case when they detained the person of interest they later released.

Levi Neuwirth, who said he was a Brown senior who used to have class in the room where the shooting happened, said anxiety is high on campus. But he said students and the rest of the Brown community have been supporting each other and displaying extra kindness.

“Campus is on edge, mourning, grieving, processing, all of the above that folks would expect,” said Neuwirth, of Wallkill, New York. “But I would really highlight that the major sentiment I feel and I know many of my peers feel is a strong sense of community, of love. We have each other’s backs.”

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Contributing were Associated Press reporters Kimberlee Kruesi, Amanda Swinhart, Robert F. Bukaty and Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington.

A community member looks at flowers, notes and mementos in a makeshift memorial display sitting in front of Brown University's Van Wickle gates, in Providence, R.I., two days after a shooting took place on the university's campus, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A police vehicle is parked at an intersection near crime scene tape at Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Passers-by walk past crime scene tape at an entrance to Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following the Saturday, Dec. 13, shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Police tape off hotel rooms where the person of interest was arrested in a shooting, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Coventry, R.I. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)

People hold candles during a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for those injured or killed during the Saturday shooting on Brown University campus. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A bouquet of flowers rests on snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, on the campus of Brown University not far from where a shooting took place, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)