Feb 12 (Reuters) - The UN peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo will send reconnaissance flights to the eastern city of Uvira as part of preparations to help monitor a ceasefire between the government and the AFC/M23 rebel group, it said on Thursday.

AFC/M23 captured Uvira in December and withdrew a week later under pressure from the United States. Congo’s army moved back into the town last month.

Congo and the rebels agreed last week to activate a Qatari-mediated ceasefire monitoring mechanism, part of a broader framework negotiated in Doha to halt fighting.

The acting head of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, Vivian van de Perre, told reporters that the first aerial reconnaissance mission to Uvira will take place “in the coming days”. Any UN deployment to support the ceasefire will be rolled out progressively and only once security guarantees are in place to protect UN personnel and equipment, she said.

Van de Perre began a visit to Goma, a city that has been under AFC/M23 control since January 2025, to meet the parties involved and advance preparations for the ceasefire-monitoring mission.

She arrived aboard a UN helicopter, landing at Goma airport for the first time since its closure after rebels seized the city.

Humanitarian agencies have called the reopening of the airport essential for medical evacuations and aid deliveries.

“I hope this marks the beginning of the gradual reopening of Goma airport for the benefit of the population,” Van de Perre said.

MONUSCO withdrew from South Kivu in June 2024 at the Congolese government’s request, after more than two decades of operations in the province.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom, Writing by Clement Bonnerot, Editing by Jessica Donati and Philippa Fletcher)