UVIRA, DR Congo, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- In Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), streets are being swept, shops are cautiously reopening, and residents are stepping back into public spaces as daily life begins to move again.
After days of intense fighting, the once temporary administrative center of South Kivu has begun a fragile recovery, with uncertainty over whether calm will last.
Early Saturday morning, three days after the March 23 Movement (M23) claimed to have seized the city, residents in several neighborhoods emerged to clean main roads, sweep streets, and clear debris left by recent clashes.
"This is the first time we've come out since the fighting," said Ndugu Bahambwe, a local of Kalundu neighborhood, holding a broom. "We were afraid, but we also want to show that life has to continue."
Bahambwe said the citywide clean-up was meant to prepare for a possible reopening of economic activities as early as next week, "if the situation remains calm."
While the atmosphere felt quieter than before, caution governed daily routines, especially after dark. Many shops shut their doors, public transport operated at reduced capacity, and most residents only went out for necessities.
From daytime till after dark, this tentative return unfolded under a heavy military presence, with M23 fighters deployed around key sites and stationed at major intersections across the city.
Uvira is functioning again, residents told Xinhua, but under close watch. Those bullet holes and damaged vehicles still stayed, highlighting how the recent violence shattered daily life.
In recent weeks, fighting between the Congolese military and the M23 has spread across several territories in South Kivu, displacing over 500,000 civilians, including over 100,000 children, and disrupting economic activity, according to the United Nations Children's Fund.
Uvira's strategic location off the shores of Lake Tanganyika and on the border with Burundi, with an active crossing point, makes its stability particularly sensitive.
As a commercial crossroads in South Kivu, Uvira plays a crucial role in cross-border trade with Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, particularly in food, fuel, and mineral supplies.
The uncertainty surrounding the next phase of the conflict continues to shape civilian behavior more than any official declaration of calm.
Aganze Aristote, who fled Uvira during the fighting, said his family lost most of their belongings while escaping gunfire. "We abandoned many things while running," he said.
After hearing that the area had been secured, he decided to return. "Life became very difficult when we fled. We didn't know where to go," he said. "I came back and reopened so that the children would not die of hunger."
Munyasole Yve made a similar decision after fleeing. "Where we went, we realized we risked dying of hunger," he said. "The money ran out, and the local authorities couldn't support everyone. We had no choice but to return."
The instability has also affected foreign workers.
As M23 forces entered Uvira, Burundian authorities closed the border with the DRC, citing security concerns.
On Sunday, a one-day, limited passage was granted to allow hundreds of Burundian nationals stranded in South Kivu to go back home, following consultations between the M23 and Burundian authorities.
At the border, a long queue of visibly anxious people formed under the sun. Many carried all they had left -- bundles wrapped in cloth and balanced on their heads, sweat running down their faces as they stood in line waiting for their turn.
Among them was Fulgence Ndaizehe. "We were working in Uvira," he said. "But given the situation, we decided to go back to Burundi."
As residents cautiously tried a return to daily routines, M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka on Saturday urged youth to avoid violence, looting, and retaliation, noting residents themselves, particularly young people, as a key force in stabilizing the city.
Briefing the United Nations Security Council on Friday, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN under-secretary-general for peace operations, warned that the DRC continued to face a deep security and humanitarian crisis, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.
Lacroix said the latest M23 offensive in South Kivu had "revived the specter of a regional conflagration with incalculable consequences," and warned of a "serious risk" of further fragmentation as the conflict becomes increasingly regionalized.
Analysts and local sources have warned that Uvira's loss could open a corridor toward the DRC's southeastern provinces, including Haut-Katanga, a key economic region, as clashes have also been reported further south in the Baraka and Fizi areas.
For many civilians, however, confidence will depend less on speeches than on whether calm holds over time. ■