Congo War Security Review

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

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Key Takeaway: Members of the Joint Oversight Committee met to finalize implementation of the security provisions in the US-backed peace agreement. The Congolese government and M23 are set to convene for the next round of Qatari-brokered talks next week. The Congolese army (FARDC) conducted a drone strike on M23 in an urban area in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The FARDC conducted drone strikes on M23 in a remote area in Walikale district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

The Congolese army (FARDC) conducted a drone strike on M23 in an urban area in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Tazama RDC reported that the FARDC targeted an M23 military camp used for logistics operations near Rutshuru town in the strike on October 1.[i] The outlet reported that M23 then tried to shoot down the drone using a mortar but the projectile fell and destroyed property in a residential area about two miles from Rutshuru town.[ii] M23 officials blamed the damage from the strike on the FARDC and accused the FARDC of targeting civilians on October 2.[iii] Lawrence Kanyuka, M23’s political spokesperson, claimed that the FARDC launched the attack from its bases in Uvira in South Kivu and Burundi.[iv] Kanyuka said that M23 “finds itself compelled to intervene to protect and save” civilians.[v] M23 reportedly began moving “hundreds” of troops to the frontlines in Masisi, Walikale, and Rutshuru districts in North Kivu and to South Kivu after the strike on October 2.[vi]

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

The FARDC conducted drone strikes on M23 in a remote area in Walikale district in North Kivu. The FARDC reportedly targeted M23 positions in Buleusa locality in Ikobo group on October 2.[vii] Buleusa is Ikobo’s administrative center, located roughly 10 miles northeast of Pinga on a forested route.

M23 reportedly clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in southern Masisi district. The Congolese media outlet Beto.cd reported that M23 attacked several Wazalendo positions near Remeka village in the Katoyi sector in Masisi on October 1 and 2.[viii] Remeka is about 13 miles southwest of Rubaya in southern Masisi district.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Members of the Joint Oversight Committee met to finalize implementation of the security provisions in the US-backed peace agreement. The DRC and Rwanda—along with Qatar, Togo as the African Union Representative, and the United States—convened for the third Joint Oversight Committee meeting in Washington, DC, on October 1.[ix] The committee finalized and confirmed the start date for the Operational Order against an ethnic Hutu extremist militia and its auxiliaries—the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR)—and the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from the eastern DRC on October 1.[x] The readout said that the committee members “acknowledged challenges” in implementing the peace agreement, discussed military escalation in North and South Kivu, and committed to “refrain from hostile actions or rhetoric” that would “undermine or complicate” the agreement’s execution.[xi] The fourth committee meeting is scheduled to take place after the next Joint Security Coordination Mechanism meeting on October 21 to 22.[xii]

The Congolese government and M23 are set to convene for the next round of Qatari-brokered talks next week. The Qatari delegation said at the Joint Oversight Committee meeting that talks are scheduled to resume during the week of October 6.[xiii]

M23 invalidated Congolese government-issued visas and issued its own travel requirements in areas that it controls. Bertrand Bisimwa, M23’s deputy political chief, declared visas issued by the Congolese government as “null and void” and ordered that foreign nationals, UN staff, and non-governmental organization workers must obtain M23-issued visas for access to areas under its control in a decree issued in early October.[xiv] A senior M23 official told French state media on October 3 after M23 issued the decree that the group considers itself the “guarantor of the nation in the area we control.”[xv] M23 issued the order reportedly in retaliation for the Congolese government’s travel restrictions on M23-controlled areas, which has disrupted regional travel and been a notable source of tension between the two sides since early 2025.[xvi]

Data Cutoff: October 1, 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 Congolese government convicted former DRC President Joseph Kabila on charges of treason. Representatives from the Congolese and Rwandan governments met to finalize the US-backed regional economic framework. The Congolese army expanded its counteroffensive on M23-controlled Nzibira in South Kivu. M23 has cracked down on corruption in the group’s leadership in recent weeks.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts 

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Independent Congolese journalist Daniel Michombero reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Kashalira village in the Mutanda group in Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on September 30.[i] Kashalira is about eight miles south of Kibirzi on the edge of the Virunga National Park on a local road.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia 

Nothing significant to report. 

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie  

M23 conducted a cordon and search operation in Bukavu in South Kivu. M23 conducted the operation in several areas in the Ibanda commune in central Bukavu on September 30.[ii] The group said that it arrested about twenty people and confiscated weapons after reportedly screening hundreds of residents in the operation.[iii]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

Nothing significant to report.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu 

The Congolese army (FARDC) expanded its counteroffensive on M23-controlled Nzibira in South Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported that the FARDC conducted drone strikes on at least five M23 positions around Nzibira in southern Walungu district on September 29.[iv] The outlet reported that the FARDC and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters established defensive positions in three locations around Nzibira about 12 miles from the frontlines.[v] The FARDC had conducted an initial round of drone strikes on M23 positions in Nzibira on September 27.[vi]

Major Political Developments 

The Congolese government convicted former DRC President Joseph Kabila on charges of treason. The top Congolese military court handed down the conviction with a death penalty sentence and an arrest warrant in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, on September 30.[vii] The court tried Kabila in absentia and without a defense and found him guilty of treason—among other charges—for his alleged ties to M23. The court said that it would not confiscate Kabila’s assets but claimed nearly $50 billion in total damages.[viii] Kabila’s camp denounced the conviction and said that it represented a “clear intention” to “eliminate” the former president.[ix] M23 officials also denounced the conviction and said that M23 will address the issue “on the negotiating table” in Qatari-brokered peace talks with the Congolese government.[x]

Representatives from the Congolese and Rwandan governments met to finalize the US-backed regional economic framework. Massad Boulos, US President Trump’s Africa advisor, hosted delegations from both sides for the final round of negotiations on the framework on September 30.[xi] The economic aspects of the framework center around regional economic cooperation in sectors including energy, infrastructure, mining, national park management and tourism, and public health.[xii]

M23 has cracked down on corruption in the group’s leadership in recent weeks. The French investigative outlet Africa Intelligence reported on October 1 that Sultani Makenga, M23’s military chief, has sanctioned several senior leadership figures suspected of looting and embezzlement in recent weeks.[xiii] The outlet reported that Makenga targeted and imprisoned “high-ranking officers” and even his own family members in M23 as part of the crackdown.[xiv]

Data Cutoff: September 29, 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 Congolese army destroyed a key M23-controlled bridge on the RP1030 in North Kivu. M23 captured several villages west of Nzibira in South Kivu. The Congolese government dispatched a delegation to the United States to advance bilateral security cooperation as part of the US-backed peace agreement. M23 commissioned over 200 political appointees and civil servants.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

M23 repelled several pro-Congolese government Wazalendo attacks in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Congolese media reported that M23 repelled the attacks in four villages in the Bukombo group in Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on September 29.[i] M23 last clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Bukombo in mid-September.[ii]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

The Congolese army (FARDC) reportedly bombed M23-aligned militia positions in southern South Kivu. Lawrence Kanyuka, M23’s political spokesperson, accused the FARDC and the Burundian army (FDNB) of carrying out air attacks on M23-aligned Twirwaneho rebel positions in Mikenge and nearby villages on RP527 in Fizi district on September 29.[iii] Kanyuka claimed that the FARDC and FDNB launched the attacks from Uvira town and Burundi.[iv]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

The FARDC destroyed a key M23-controlled bridge on the RP1030 in North Kivu. The FARDC reportedly bombed and destroyed the Minjenje bridge on the RP1030 on the border between Masisi and Walikale districts using CH-4 attack drones on September 28.[v] The bridge is about three miles southeast of Mpeti— M23’s forward operating base on the RP1030. The FARDC also targeted M23 positions in Mpeti in the attacks.[vi] Kanyuka denounced the attacks on social media as “deliberate sabotage.”[vii] FARDC sources told Congolese media that the strikes intended to thwart M23’s advance on Pinga.[viii] The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 had repaired the bridge and began using it to move heavy weaponry to Mpeti from its supply points in Kalembe and Kitchanga on September 24.[ix]

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 near Nyabiondo on the RP529 in Walikale district. Congolese media reported that Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Kasopo and Kaandja villages on September 29.[x] Kasopo and Kaandja are about seven and two miles from Nyabiondo on the RP529, respectively. Congolese media reported that Wazalendo fighters also attacked M23 near Kashebere on the RP529 in Walikale on September 27.[xi]

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 near Masisi town. The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported that Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in the Buabo group, about nine miles southwest of Masisi, on September 28.[xii] M23 last clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Buabo in late August.[xiii]

Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in north-central Masisi district. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that Wazalendos attacked M23 in Mihara village in the Bashali chiefdom in Masisi on September 28.[xiv] Mihara is about 10 miles west of Mweso on the RP1030.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

M23 captured several villages west of Nzibira in South Kivu. The Congolese news outlet Tazama RDC reported that M23 advanced 12 miles west of Nzibira on the RP503 and captured two villages from pro-Congolese government forces on September 28.[xv] The outlet reported that M23 then advanced two miles further west on the RP503 and attacked FARDC positions in Bukarakara village in Kabare district on September 29.[xvi]

The FARDC conducted an airstrike on M23 positions in Nzibira. Congolese media sources reported on social media that the FARDC bombed M23-controlled Nzibira using a CH-4 drone on September 27.[xvii] Independent Congolese journalist Steve Wembi reported that the FARDC drone used in the attack on Nzibira deployed from Burundi.[xviii]

Major Political Developments

The Congolese government dispatched a delegation to the United States to advance bilateral security cooperation as part of the US-backed peace agreement. The French state media outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported on September 28 that Congolese government sent a nine-member delegation of military and intelligence experts to the United States to discuss the security aspects of the peace deal following DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in late September.[xix] RFI reported that the Congolese government aims to see the peace deal “go beyond the purely commercial framework” and will urge the United States to provide security assistance to the DRC to protect American economic interests in the DRC as part of US national security.[xx] A member of the delegation told RFI that the DRC aims to model US-DRC cooperation after the United States’ defense partnerships with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.[xxi]

M23 commissioned over 200 political appointees and civil servants. M23 staged a graduation ceremony for over 200 political and administrative cadres who completed a training workshop in Goma on September 27.[xxii] Corneille Nangaa, M23’s political chief, said that the ceremony marked an “important step toward the establishment of functional institutions” in areas that M23 controls.[xxiii] Nangaa said that M23 is pursuing a holistic “national refoundation project” and that the “pillars of the [Congolese] state are gradually being put in place for a new governance” of the DRC.[xxiv] Nangaa warned against corruption and called on the cadres to maintain loyalty to the group’s cause.[xxv]