Eastern DRC has been ravaged by three decades of conflict and faces renewed violence following the 2021 resurgence of the M23 armed group, backed by Rwanda and its army.

The M23 seized large swathes of territory in the east and launched an offensive in December on Uvira, a strategic town in South Kivu province near the border with Burundi.

The assault drew condemnation from the United States, which has mediated a fragile peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda.

That agreement provided for the UN's DRC peacekeeping mission MONUSCO to carry out a field-monitoring operation with a view to implementing a permanent ceasefire.

On Tuesday, MONUSCO and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, a grouping of surrounding countries, said in a statement they had deployed a joint exploratory and preliminary assessment mission to Uvira.

Scheduled to run until Friday, the mission focuses on assessing access, security, logistics and engagement needs, MONUSCO said.

The statement called the mission "an essential step towards deploying the future joint ceasefire?monitoring mechanism".

In January, the M23 withdrew its last troops from Uvira, claiming it was responding to a US request. The Congolese army said it had retaken control of the town.