The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Felix Tshisekedi, has denounced allegations of a rebel withdrawal in the East, particularly in the town of Uvira.

Appearing live on videoconference on Sunday, December 21st, 2025, at an emergency summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), President Tshisekedi said that government sources of information indicate that armed groups are still in the city and its environs arguing that key strategic positions are held, and the population is subjected to abuses.

“It seems that the declarations of disengagement are incompatible with the facts as noted in the field,” he said.

This summit was attended by the leaders of the member states of the ICGLR, the African Union, the European Union, the United States of America, as well as the United Nations.

“This constitutes, in essence, a crucial trial for the diplomatic efforts of the region. An announced withdrawal, but neither effective, nor verified, nor followed by the re-establishment of the authority of the regular forces, can in no way be considered as a real withdrawal,” he said.

Tshisekedi demanded for a full, outright, and unconditional pull-out of the Rwandan army over the whole territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

His remarks illustrated the longstanding tension between the DRC and Rwanda, which has both denied the presence of troops in the DRC, choosing instead to say that it has only Congolese citizens fighting for their rights in the country.

The summit exposed the deep-seated lack of trust that makes the quest for stabilizing the resource-rich but conflicted eastern side of the country so complicated.