Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: November 10, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST  

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Key Takeaway: The DRC and Rwanda signed the US-backed Regional Economic Integration Framework (REIF). The Congolese government and M23 held the first monitoring meeting for the ceasefire verification mechanism. M23 attacked pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

M23 attacked pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly attacked Wazalendo fighters in Kinyankuku village in the Bukombo group in Rutshuru district on November 10.[i] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of Kinyankuku. The Bukombo group is roughly 10 miles east of Kitchanga town on the RP1030. M23 has clashed frequently with Wazalendo fighters in Bukombo in recent weeks.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

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 and Rwanda signed the US-backed Regional Economic Integration Framework (REIF). Representatives from the DRC and Rwanda, along with Qatar, Togo as the African Union representative, and the United States, met for the fourth Joint Oversight Committee meeting in Washington, DC on November 7.[ii] The DRC and Rwanda signed the REIF, which centers around cooperation in economic initiatives in sectors including energy, infrastructure, mining, national park management and tourism, and public health.[iii] The Congolese and Rwandan presidents were tentatively expected to sign the REIF and the broader peace agreement in a head of state ceremony in Washington on November 13, but Reuters reported on November 7 that the official date has yet to be confirmed.[iv] DRC President Félix Tshisekedi said in a speech on November 7 that the United States would formally invite him and Rwandan President Paul Kagame to sign the peace agreement soon.[v]

The REIF’s implementation is contingent on the implementation of the security aspects of the late June peace agreement, according to the readout.[vi] The oversight committee acknowledged slow progress and agreed on “specific near-term actions” related to the military plan to eradicate the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and see Rwanda withdraw its troops from the eastern DRC.[vii] The committee discussed preparations for military operations against the FDLR in a “named area of interest” and adopted an implementing agreement.[viii] The FDLR has yet to voluntarily surrender to the Congolese army (FARDC) or UN forces despite pressure from the Congolese government since early October. French state media had reported that the DRC and Rwanda would present their proposals for operations against the FDLR if it refused to surrender during the third meeting of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism in late October.[ix]

The Congolese government and M23 held the first monitoring meeting for the ceasefire verification mechanism. The Qatari delegation said at the Joint Oversight Committee meeting that the two sides convened for the initial meeting on November 5.[x] The FARDC accused M23 publicly of conducting new attacks in North and South Kivu in violation of the ceasefire in recent days on November 8, however.[xi] Qatar also said that the two sides have made progress on prisoner exchanges during the oversight committee meeting.[xii]

Data Cutoff: November 7, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST  

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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 Congolese army advanced a campaign to facilitate the voluntary surrender of fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR). M23-aligned militia fighters captured several villages from pro-Congolese government forces in the Fizi and Mwenga highlands in South Kivu. Wazalendo fighters repelled M23 attacks along the RP503 in South Kivu. M23 conducted a cordon and search operation in Masisi town in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked M23 in Katsiru village, about seven miles east of Mweso on the RP1030, on November 5 and 6.[i] Wazalendo fighters had attacked M23 in Katsiru in early November and ambushed an M23 contingent in nearby Mashango village that killed at least 18 civilians on November 3.[ii]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23-aligned militia fighters captured several villages from pro-Congolese government forces in the Fizi and Mwenga highlands in South Kivu. Pro-Congolese government forces had attacked M23-aligned Twirwaneho fighters north of Minembwe town, including in Mikenge and Bilalombili villages on the RP527, near the border between Fizi and Mwenga districts on November 4.[iii] Twirwaneho fighters then attacked pro-Congolese government positions and captured a village north of Mikenge on the RP527 and at least four villages south of Bilalombili on November 5 and 6.[iv] Pro-Congolese government forces conducted a counterattack on Mikenge and another nearby village on November 6.[v] Twirwaneho fighters also captured Bichumbe from pro-Congolese government forces, a remote village east of Minembwe town on November 6.[vi] Congolese media reported that the Twirwaneho offensives in the Fizi and Mwenga highlands likely aim to consolidate control around Minembwe and strengthen its supply lines between Minembwe and Mikenge.[vii]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani  

M23 conducted a cordon and search operation in Masisi town in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported that M23 closed off several roads around the town and conducted the clearing operation in several neighborhoods and villages around Masisi town on November 5.[viii] The outlet cited local sources who claimed that M23 arrested between 200 to 400 young people and forcibly recruited them into the group’s ranks.[ix]

Wazalendo fighters captured a village near the RP1030 in Masisi district. Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked and dislodged M23 from Kivuye village in the Luhanga locality in the Bashali chiefdom in north-central Masisi district on November 6.[x] Kivuye is about 13 miles southwest of Kashuga on the RP1030.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Wazalendo fighters repelled M23 attacks along the RP503 in South Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Tazama RDC reported that Wazalendo fighters repelled M23 attacks on Chulwe and Kibandamangobo villages along the RP503 in Kabare and Walungu districts, respectively, on November 6, marking the first significant kinetic activity on the RP503 since early October.[xi] The two villages are about 11 and 15 miles west of Nzibira along the RP503, respectively.

Major Political Developments  

The Congolese army (FARDC) advanced a campaign to facilitate the surrender of fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR). The FARDC reportedly sent senior officers to government-controlled areas in Walikale district, including Walikale town and Pinga, to coordinate an awareness campaign for the FDLR’s surrender on November 5.[xii]  The FARDC delegation said that the campaign will soon extend to other districts in North Kivu, including Masisi and Rutshuru.[xiii] The FDLR has yet to surrender despite pressure from the Congolese government as part of the US-backed peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda since early October.

Data Cutoff: November 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 return of state authority remains an obstacle to DRC-M23 peace talks. M23 established an office of inspector general. M23 announced the recruitment of more than 370 officials for its parallel judicial system. M23 formally established an arbitration center.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters in the Kihondo and Bukombo groups in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on November 3 and 4.[i] Wazalendo fighters ambushed an M23 contingent in Mashango village in Bukombo on November 3, killing at least 18 civilians.[ii] M23 has clashed regularly with Wazalendo fighters in Bwito for several weeks.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Wazalendo fighters attacked M23-aligned militia positions in Mwenga district in South Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked M23-aligned Twirwaneho militia positions north of Minembwe town in Mikenge and Bilalombili villages on the RP527 in the Fizi highlands in Mwenga on November 4.[iii]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

The return of state authority remains an obstacle to DRC-M23 peace talks. The French media outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported on November 4 and 5 that minimal progress toward a peace agreement has occurred this week and that the return of state authority remains an obstacle in ongoing talks.[iv] RFI reported that the proposal on the table is the thirteenth iteration of a draft agreement.[v] The Congolese government reportedly continues to demand M23’s unconditional withdrawal, while M23 argues for a progressive return of state authority under a national unity government.[vi] CTP had assessed in August that significant disagreements over the return of state authority and M23’s territorial control would likely prolong talks.[vii]

M23 established an office of inspector general. M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka established the General Inspectorate of Governance (IGG) in a directive published on October 31.[viii] The IGG is an oversight body that will “ensure internal control, supervision, and evaluation of the administrative, financial, and operational management” of the group’s parallel government structures, with the exception of the judiciary.[ix] The directive said M23’s executive council will appoint an inspector general, along with two deputies who are in charge separately of public administration and finance.[x] The IGG also has a staff of investigators, inspectors, and trainees.[xi] The IGG will have offices in both provinces that will operate under the inspector general’s authority.[xii]

M23 announced the recruitment of more than 370 officials for its parallel judicial system. Kanyuka published a list of 378 applicants who passed a judicial entrance exam the group had administered in Goma in mid-September on November 3.[xiii] Delion Kimbulungu, a top M23 official and head of the group’s judicial affairs, said on November 3 that the results marked a “decisive step” in the group’s efforts to set up a parallel system.[xiv] M23 is expected to appoint senior magistrates and judges to courts soon.[xv] The group had established a justice commission to set up parallel courts and judicial institutions in mid-August and said repeatedly that it views the establishment of a legal system as a “strategic priority.”[xvi] The Congolese government has denounced M23’s efforts to establish parallel courts and has said it will annul any judicial acts or decisions taken by M23 authorities.[xvii]

M23 formally established an arbitration center. Kanyuka published a detailed directive for the creation, organization, operation, and monitoring of the Conciliation Center (CC-RDC) on November 4.[xviii] The group had created a dispute resolution mechanism after the group’s efforts to reshape the land economy led to widespread land conflicts in 2025.[xix] Kanyuka said that the directive formalizes and transforms the mechanism into a full-fledged arbitration center.[xx] The CC-RDC will operate in both provinces and in “each administrative entity” under the group’s judicial affairs department.[xxi] The center has a board of directors, a secretariat, a committee of conciliators, legal, administrative, and financial support staff, and an observatory for monitoring agreements.[xxii] The document details the CC-RDC’s procedures and guidelines for conflict resolution and its relationship to M23-established courts.[xxiii]