Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: September 15, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here.

Key Takeaway: Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 on several fronts in Masisi district in North Kivu. Reuters reported that the DRC and Rwanda aim to finalize the US-led regional economic framework in early October. The DRC and M23 signed a prisoner exchange agreement. The UN repatriated close to 300 Rwandan refugees to Rwanda from the eastern DRC as part of the US-backed peace accord.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

M23 repelled pro-Congolese government Wazalendo attacks near the RP1030 in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 repelled Wazalendo attacks on M23 in three villages, including Kyahemba and Mushebere, in the Bukombo group in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on September 11.[i] Kyahemba is about nine miles northwest of Kitchanga on the RP1030.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 near Nyabiondo in Masisi district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 repelled Wazalendo attacks in Kasopo on September 4 and September 6.[ii] Kasopo is roughly seven miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529. Wazalendo fighters then attacked again and dislodged M23 from two positions in Kasopo on September 10, causing a large displacement of people.[iii] M23 attacked Wazalendo positions and regained control of one of the positions in Kasopo after a four-day lull on September 13.[iv]

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 near the RP529 in Walikale district in North Kivu. Actualite.cd reported that Wazalendos attacked M23 on the front lines in Kibati on the RP529 on September 10.[v] Kibati is about 13 miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529. The outlet reported that M23 repelled Wazalendo attacks on its positions on Mount Bueni on September 13.[vi] Mount Bueni is about four miles southwest of Kasopo on a local road.

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in several areas near the Masisi district capital. Actualite.cd reported that Wazalendo fighters and M23 clashed in Shoa on September 6 before M23 regained control of the village on September 7.[vii] Shoa is about eight miles west of Masisi town via local road. Both sides reportedly used heavy weaponry around Shoa.[viii] Actualite.cd reported that Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Kihuma village—four miles south of Masisi—on September 7.[ix] The outlet reported that M23 captured several other villages near Shoa, including Burora, from Wazalendo fighters, some of whom retreated toward Kazinga—about nine miles southwest of Shoa—on September 8 and September 9.[x]

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 near the RP1030 on the border between Masisi and Walikale districts in North Kivu. Congolese media reported that Wazalendo fighters conducted attacks against M23 in at least four villages on the RP1030, including Mpeti, from September 8 to September 12.[xi] Mpeti is about ten miles east of Pinga, a regional military and logistics hub, on the RP1030. M23 reportedly reinforced its positions near Mpeti and the nearby Kisimba group in Walikale district from its supply point in Kitshanga in Rutshuru district on September 11.[xii]

M23 launched an offensive in an area north of Nyabiondo in north-central Masisi. Congolese media reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in central Bashali chiefdom in Masisi from September 7 to September 10, when M23 took control of at least three villages in the area, including Bibwe—roughly 15 miles southeast of Pinga.[xiii] Actualite.cd reported that M23 transferred suspected Wazalendo fighters from a cordon and search operation on the RP1030 to Bibwe on September 11.[xiv] M23 launched an offensive near Lukweti, about eight miles southwest of Bibwe and 11 miles north of Nyabiondo, on September 13, which has caused significant population displacements in the area.[xv] M23 reportedly captured several villages near Lukweti from Wazalendo fighters on September 15.[xvi]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Reuters reported that the DRC and Rwanda aim to finalize the US-led regional economic framework in early October. Reuters cited an insider source on September 14 who said that various stakeholders are discussing the details of the framework and that representatives from the DRC and Rwanda likely aim to meet in early October to finalize the deal.[xvii] Reuters reported that the draft deal builds on a preliminary outline from late August and commits the DRC and Rwanda to work with the United States and third parties to reform and formalize their mineral supply chains.[xviii] The regional economic framework centers around cooperation in economic initiatives in sectors including energy, infrastructure, mining, national park management and tourism, and public health.[xix] Reuters reported that the latest draft agreement outlines reforms and coordination mechanisms for regional mineral supply chains, including third-party inspections of mining sites, developing “cross-border special economic zones,” and timelines for regional summits on economic integration.[xx]

The DRC and M23 signed a prisoner exchange agreement. Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump’s Africa advisor, said on social media on September 12 that the two sides recently signed a Qatari-brokered Prisoner Exchange Mechanism agreement.[xxi] Boulos said that the International Committee of the Red Cross will facilitate the exchange process as a “neutral intermediary.”[xxii]

The UN repatriated close to 300 Rwandan refugees to Rwanda from the eastern DRC as part of the US-backed peace accord. The UN collaborated with M23 to repatriate 284 Rwandan refugees to Rwanda via the M23-controlled Grande Barrière border post in Goma on September 9.[xxiii] Many of the refugees were reportedly dependents of ethnic Hutu extremist fighters who lived near the Virunga National Park.[xxiv] The repatriation operations are part of an agreement backed by the UN and the United States between the DRC and Rwanda to find solutions to the refugees crisis and expedite voluntary repatriations in late July.

* CTP will be pausing the Congo War Security Review from September 8 through September 12. CTP will resume its usual schedule on September 15. *

Data Cutoff: September 5, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

To receive the Africa File and Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here.

Follow CTP on X, LinkedIn, and BlueSky for daily updates.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here.

Key Takeaway: The DRC, Rwanda, and observer nations met for the second meeting of the Joint Oversight Committee. Qatari-brokered peace talks between the Congolese government and M23 are reportedly deadlocked. M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Congolese media reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in at least four villages in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on September 4.[i] Congolese media reported that the Wazalendo fighters belong to the Collectif des Mouvements pour le Changement-Forces de Défense du Peuple (CMC-FDP), which is an ethnic Hutu militia that has ties to the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).[ii]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Nothing significant to report.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

The DRC, Rwanda, and observer nations met for the second meeting of the Joint Oversight Committee. Representatives from the DRC and Rwanda, along with the African Union, Qatar, Togo, and the United States, met this week in Washington, DC, to discuss the implementation of the late June peace agreement and the security crisis in the eastern DRC.[iii] The readout said that the committee “acknowledged slowness” in implementing various provisions of the US-brokered agreement.[iv] Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to cut support for non-state armed groups and implement the security provisions of the agreement ahead of an upcoming Joint Security Coordination Mechanism meeting in Doha, the Qatari capital.[v] The readout also said that both sides committed to exchange intelligence and facilitate military communication ahead of the Joint Security Mechanism meeting.[vi]

Qatari-brokered peace talks between the Congolese government and M23 are reportedly deadlocked. French state media reported on September 4 that representatives from both sides have been in Doha for nearly three weeks but that no concrete progress has been made and the talks remain stalled over complex issues regarding the release of prisoners on both sides.[vii]

Data Cutoff: September 3, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

To receive the Africa File and Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here.

Follow CTP on X, LinkedIn, and BlueSky for daily updates.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here.

Key Takeaway: Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is set to host a regional peace conference that includes various Congolese opposition leaders and M23 this week. M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters near the Walungu district capital in South Kivu. M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters south of the Masisi district capital in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

M23 attacked pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in two villages in the Bukombo group in Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on September 3.[i] Kivu Morning Post reported that the Wazalendo fighters belong to the Collectif des Mouvements pour le Changement-Forces de Défense du Peuple (CMC-FDP), which is an ethnic Hutu militia that has ties to the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).[ii]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack near Nyabiondo in Masisi district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 repelled the attack in Kibati on the RP529 on August 31.[iii] Kibati is about 13 miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529. Actualite.cd reported that M23 had reinforced its positions in Kibati and Kashebere, about six miles east from Kibati on the RP529 toward Nyabiondo, on August 27.[iv]

M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in a remote area in Walikale district in North Kivu. Actualite.cd reported that M23 attacked Wazalendo positions in Banakindi locality in the Kisimba group on September 1.[v] CTP is unable to verify the location of Banakindi. The Kisimba group is located roughly 12 miles northeast of Pinga, a military and logistics hub on the RP1030 in Masisi district. Actualite.cd reported on several occasions that M23 had deployed additional fighters to Kisimba and the nearby Ikobo group and ordered local populations in the area to evacuate ahead of planned M23 operations late last week and early this week.[vi]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters south of the Masisi district capital. Actualite.cd reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendos in Kazinga, roughly 17 miles southwest of Masisi, on September 2.[vii] M23 last clashed with Wazalendos in Kazinga in late July.[viii]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters near the Walungu district capital in South Kivu. Congolese media reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in several villages near Kaniola—six miles west of Walungu town on a local road—on August 30 and September 1.[ix] The Congolese media outlet Radio Maendeleo reported that the August 30 clashes occurred in three villages about three miles south of Kaniola on a local road, including Cimbulungu, as M23 attempted to advance toward Nzibira, which is about 15 miles south of Kaniola.[x] Radio Maendeleo reported that M23 then advanced about two miles south from the Cimbulungu area and clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Budodo village on the road to Nzibira on September 1.[xi]

Major Political Developments

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki is set to host a regional peace conference that includes various Congolese opposition leaders and M23 this week. Thabo Mbeki’s foundation will host the second annual African Peace and Security Dialogue conference near Johannesburg in South Africa from September 3 to September 6.[xii] Mbeki’s foundation plans to facilitate informal discussions on the political and security crisis in the eastern DRC, among other crises across the African conflict.[xiii] Over 175 leaders will attend the conference, including Congolese civil society leaders, religious leaders, and several Congolese opposition figures.[xiv] Former DRC President Joseph Kabila confirmed his participation, along with veteran opposition leader Moïse Katumbi, among at least six other opposition figures.[xv] Corneille Nangaa, the head of M23’s political branch, said that M23 sent a “large” delegation to the conference.[xvi]

The Congolese government officially declined to participate in the talks on August 28.[xvii] The Congolese communications minister criticized Mbeki as "partisan"  and said that the Congolese government is already involved in several peace tracks with respect to the eastern DRC conflict.[xviii] DRC President Félix Tshisekedi said in a speech on August 30 that the Congolese government would not commit to a dialogue effort led by foreign mediators and that there would “never be any dialogue outside of my initiative.”[xix]