2025 Uvira offensive

Uvira offensive
	Part of the M23 campaign
Date	February 16, 2025 – March 2025; (4 weeks); December 1, 2025 – December 10, 2025; (1 week and 2 days)
Location	South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Result	M23 victory M23 rebels capture Uvira; Displacement of 200,000 people; Rupture of 2025 Democratic Republic of the Congo-Rwanda peace agreement; Closure of Burundian border with DRC; M23 agrees to unilateral withdrawal;
Territorial; changes	M23 captures Uvira and several other towns
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
Strength
	At least 413 killed, 83 wounded, and 200,000 displaced (December 2025)

The 2025 Uvira offensive was a military operation conducted by March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), centered around their advance toward Uvira located at the northern end of Lake Tanganyika. The military campaign followed the rebels' capture of Bukavu, the provincial capital of South Kivu, and occurred concurrently with advances towards Butembo in the neighboring North Kivu province.

The initial offensive slowed down in March and the front lines remained largely frozen until 1 December 2025. During a new offensive, M23 quickly advanced on Uvira along the Ruzizi River and National Road 5 as government defenses crumbled. M23 fighters entered the city, the provisional capital of South Kivu since the fall of Bukavu, on 9 December. Around 200,000 people were displaced by the renewed fighting in the region, including 20,000 that crossed the nearby border and reached Bujumbura, Burundi, on 9 December. M23 announced it was in full control of Uvira on 10 December.