GOMA, DR Congo, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The March 23 Movement (M23) rebels have expanded their operations across several areas of South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past days, even as the DRC and Rwanda signed in Washington a peace deal hailed as a major step toward de-escalation in the region.

Clashes escalated from Tuesday to Friday around Kaziba, Lubarika, Rurambo, Luvungi, and the heights of Mount Munanira in South Kivu. In the area, Burundian forces and several local armed groups have been operating alongside the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC).

"The rebels launched several attacks on our positions and attempted to bypass our defensive arrangements along the Kaziba-Luvungi axis, but the army continues to repel these attempts. Fighting is still ongoing," FARDC spokesperson in South Kivu Reagen Mbuyi said Thursday.

Local sources on Friday confirmed the rebels' advance toward the Ruzizi Plain and the corridor leading to Uvira from Luvungi -- a shift that several analysts describe as "a major evolution of the front toward Uvira", the temporary administrative capital of South Kivu, after the provincial capital, Bukavu, fell to the rebels in February.

Residents in the affected areas reported a FARDC pullback and the displacement of civilians fleeing the new combat zones. Hundreds of families have arrived in Uvira, while others from Kamanyola, a strategic crossroad in the province, crossed into Rwanda to escape shellfire.

Uvira sits on a critical road linking Bukavu with Burundi and Tanzania and serves as a logistical base for FARDC in the Ruzizi Plain, an area hosting multiple local and foreign armed groups. A possible M23 advance toward Uvira has become a growing concern for Congolese authorities and regional actors.

"If the rebels reach the outskirts of Uvira, the security impact would be considerable," warned a Goma-based Congolese analyst who requested anonymity. "South Kivu would effectively become a second epicenter of the conflict."

The latest rebel advance persisted into early Saturday despite the signing of a U.S.-mediated peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda in Washington on Thursday, which, according to DRC presidential spokesperson Tina Salama, outlines three essential objectives: ending violence in the east, restoring the DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and dismantling illicit mineral supply chains that finance war.

Eastern DRC has long been plagued by recurring violence, exacerbated by the offensives of the M23, which Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting. Rwanda denies the claim and accuses the DRC of colluding with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

According to the United Nations, more than 2.4 million people have been displaced since January 2025, bringing the tally of internally displaced persons to nearly 6 million. Around 1 million Congolese have sought refuge in neighboring countries, while 27 million people face hunger. Enditem