A climate of fear reigned Saturday in Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Congo, days after it fell to the Rwanda -backed M23 group, as fighting in the region escalated despite a U.S. mediated peace deal.
The Associated Press gained rare access to the city, which was the Congo government’s last major foothold in South Kivu province after the provincial capital of Bukavu fell to the rebels in February. Its capture allows the rebels to consolidate a broad corridor of influence across the east.
