The M23 armed group has said that it had agreed to a request from the United States to withdraw from the city of Uvira in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Rwanda-backed militias took control of the city near Burundi, just days after Congolese and Rwandan governments signed a road map to peace in Washington, whose future has been tarnished by the M23 advance, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.

The M23 called for adequate measures to be put in place to manage the city, including “demilitarisation, protecting its population and infrastructure, and monitoring the ceasefire with a neutral force”. Rwanda has denied supporting M23 and blamed Congolese and Burundian forces for the renewed fighting.