The Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group has withdrawn from several localities in the Lubero and Walikale territories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province since the night of March 23-24, Jeune Afrique reported on March 27. The rebels, who have not issued any official communication explaining the move, appear to have abandoned villages, with residents reporting empty camps and equipment left behind.

The withdrawal comes just over a week after the U.S. State Department announced that Rwanda and Congo had agreed to take concrete steps to advance their December 2025 peace deal. These steps include Rwanda's planned disengagement from eastern Congo and Kinshasa's intensified efforts to neutralize the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu rebel group that includes some 1994 genocide perpetrators and has previously carried out incursions into Rwanda. Earlier in March, the United States also imposed sanctions on the Rwandan Defense Force over its support for the M23.