Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: April 30, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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Read CTP’s newest report on Uganda's role in the eastern DRC conflict in Africa File Special Edition: Uganda in the DRC’s M23 Conflict—Friend to All, Enemy to None.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on peace talks between the DRC, M23, and Rwanda in the Congo War Security Review Special Edition: Slow and Steady – What to Make of DRC-M23 Peace Talks.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here. To receive the weekly Africa File and/or the daily Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here.

Key Takeaway: Corneille Nangaa, head of Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), M23’s political branch, said that the AFC will “keep fighting” despite peace negotiations. Representatives from the DRC, France, Qatar, Rwanda, Togo, and the United States met for peace consultations in Qatar. M23 allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate Congolese national police officers and Congolese army troops from Goma. M23 reportedly seized control of a gold mining village in Kalehe district in northern South Kivu.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23 reportedly seized control of a gold mining village in Kalehe district in northern South Kivu province. A journalist for the Congolese media outlet Tazama RDC reported on social media that M23 captured Katasomwa village in southern Kalehe district on April 29.[1] Katasomwa is located on the northern tip of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.[2]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in two remote villages in Walikale district in western North Kivu province. The Congolese news outlet Actualite.cd reported on April 30 that M23 has clashed repeatedly with Wazalendo fighters in two villages—Rusamambu and Buleusa—in recent days.[3] Buleusa is roughly 20 miles west of Kanyabayonga in Lubero district. Actualite.cd said that Wazalendo fighters control Rusamambu and M23 controls Buleusa, and that the two groups have clashed during patrols from their respective villages.[4] The two villages are about 9 miles apart on a local road. M23 last clashed with Wazalendo fighters near Buleusa on April 17.[5]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Representatives from the DRC, France, Qatar, Rwanda, Togo, and the United States met for peace consultations in Doha, the Qatari capital, on April 30.[6] The Qatari foreign ministry released a joint statement on April 30, which said that the meeting centered around ongoing Qatari-mediated peace talks between the DRC and M23 and the security and humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC.[7] The French investigative outlet Africa Intelligence reported on April 30 that the meeting also sought to finalize details of the “pre-peace agreement” between the DRC and Rwanda.[8] Togo is spearheading an African-led peace initiative between the DRC, M23, and Rwanda, while France has positioned itself as another potential non-African mediator over the last several years.[9] DRC President Félix Tshisekedi addressed the US-brokered agreement for the first time publicly as “a step in the right direction” on April 29 and said that he seeks to bring “true and lasting peace” with Rwanda.[10] The US brokered a declaration of principles agreement between the DRC and Rwanda on April 25 and set a deadline for May 2 for the parties to generate a draft peace deal.[11]

Troy Fitrell, a senior diplomat for the US State Department Africa bureau, met with senior Rwandan officials for the first “U.S.-Rwanda bilateral strategic dialogue.” Fitrell met with the Rwandan foreign minister and the Rwandan ambassador to the United States in Washington to launch the inaugural dialogue on April 29.[12]

Corneille Nangaa, head of Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), M23’s political branch, said that the AFC will “keep fighting” despite peace negotiations in an interview with British daily newspaper The Telegraph.[13] Nangaa told The Telegraph that the AFC rejects any long-term ceasefire as part of a US-brokered peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda on April 29.[14] Nangaa said that the AFC would refuse to make any further territorial concessions after withdrawing from the Walikale district capital in early April as a sign of goodwill in peace talks.[15] The AFC head claimed that most Congolese citizens “want the downfall of the Kinshasa government more than they want peace.”[16] Nangaa called Tshisekedi a “crook” and an “unreliable” negotiator and said that the AFC would “keep fighting” until Tshisekedi is overthrown or no longer in power.[17]

M23 allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to evacuate Congolese national police (CNP) officers and Congolese army (FARDC) troops from Goma. The ICRC said on April 30 that it began facilitating the withdrawal of CNP officers and FARDC soldiers and their families from UN military bases in Goma to Kinshasa, the Congolese capital.[18] The DRC government, M23, and the UN reportedly came to the arrangement after “lengthy negotiations” and called upon the ICRC as a “neutral intermediary” to facilitate the withdrawal.[19] The ICRC chief in Goma said that a series of convoys escorting the Congolese security forces over 1,000 miles from Goma to Kinshasa is “expected to last several days.”[20] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on April 30 that the convoys will travel through M23-held territory to the “front lines” with the FARDC where they will exfiltrate the eastern DRC to Kinshasa by air.[21] Jeune Afrique reported that M23 rejected the use of the Goma airport, which reportedly still remains inoperable, to transport the Congolese security forces.[22] It remains unclear how many members of the Congolese security forces are part of the ICRC convoys. The ICRC said on April 30 that “several hundred disarmed members” of the CNP and the FARDC will leave Goma.[23] M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said on social media on April 30 that M23 oversaw the transfer of 130 FARDC soldiers.[24] The UN had said that close to 1,500 FARDC soldiers were sheltering in UN bases in Goma in early April.[25]

Data Cutoff: April 29, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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

Read CTP’s latest analysis on peace talks between the DRC, M23, and Rwanda in the Congo War Security Review Special Edition: Slow and Steady – What to Make of DRC-M23 Peace Talks.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here. To receive the Africa File and Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here.

Key Takeaway: M23 reportedly began advancing westward and southward from the Kaziba chiefdom capital in South Kivu province. Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops withdrew from the eastern DRC. Civil society representatives in western Masisi district claimed M23 has reinforced the area in recent days. M23 increased recruitment efforts in North Kivu province.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23 reportedly began advancing westward and southward from the Kaziba chiefdom capital. M23 clashed with Congolese army (FARDC) troops and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo militia fighters in the Kaziba chiefdom for the third straight day using light and heavy weaponry on April 29.[1] Multiple Congolese media sources reported on April 29 that some M23 elements advanced from Lwanguku in two directions—roughly 15 miles westward on a local road toward Luwinja village near the RN2 road and southward toward the Fizi highlands via forested route.[2] M23 recaptured Lwanguku—the chiefdom’s capital—on April 27 after launching an offensive from the surrounding hills that led pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters to withdraw to the town’s outskirts.[3] Local sources previously reported the presence of Burundian troops in Kaziba in late April.[4]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Civil society representatives in western Masisi district claimed M23 has reinforced the area in recent days. Congolese journalist Yassin Kombi reported that the representatives said on April 29 that M23 forces have sent significant amounts of troops and military equipment to the area between the Kibati and Kashebere villages on the RP529 road since April 26.[5] The Congolese news outlet Actualite.cd reported on April 28 that M23 began “strengthening their positions” near Kibati and Kashebere.[6] M23 had reoccupied several villages in western Masisi district, including Kibati and Kashebere, on the RP529 road on April 26.[7]

Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 positions in a village on the RP1030 road in eastern Masisi district. The Congolese news outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that Wazalendos attacked M23 in Kashuga village—about 15 miles north of Kitchanga on the RP1030—and occupied the town center on April 29.[8]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops withdrew from the eastern DRC. Congolese and French media reported that an unspecified number of SADC troops began withdrawing discreetly from Goma with escorts from Rwandan police vehicles to Rwanda via the main border post with Rwanda on April 29.[9] Actualite.cd reported on April 29 that M23 recovered FARDC military equipment that SADC troops had possessed formerly.[10] The Rwandan foreign minister said on social media on April 29 that Rwanda facilitated SADC’s withdrawal and that the force’s presence was “always a complicating factor in the conflict.”[11] M23 and SADC troops had agreed on a phased withdrawal plan for SADC troops in late March, but the agreement collapsed after M23 accused SADC troops of participating in an attack on Goma on April 11 and reneged on the deal.[12]

M23 increased recruitment efforts in North Kivu. The Congolese news outlet Radio Okapi reported on April 29 that M23 has been conducting sophisticated “recruitment operations” targeting young people in Goma, the North Kivu provincical capital, and in Nyiragongo and Rutshuru districts.[13] The outlet said that M23 directed young people who enlisted to “ideological training centers, before being taught weapons skills and joining the fighters.”[14] Manzi Willy—the M23-appointed “Vice Governor” of North Kivu—had claimed on social media on April 25 that more than 300 young people from Nyiragongo district recently joined the rebellion.[15]

The Qatari foreign ministry released a statement in support of a peace initiative sponsored by a coalition of Congolese religious leaders.[16] French media reported that the religious leaders arrived in Doha, the Qatari capital, on April 26 and April 27 and are expected to be in Doha until May 1.[17] The French state media outlet Radio France Internationale reported on April 29 that Qatar “wants religious leaders to play a role in the search for peace in the DRC.”[18] The outlet said that Qatari officials hope the leaders can play a “bridging role” within the “broader political level” of Congolese internal affairs.[19] The religious leaders had previously met with several African heads of state, European leaders, Congolese officials and opposition politicians, and M23 leaders, who expressed support for the peace effort.[20]

Data Cutoff: April 28, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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

Read CTP’s latest analysis on peace talks between the DRC, M23, and Rwanda in the Congo War Security Review Special Edition: Slow and Steady – What to Make of DRC-M23 Peace Talks.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here. To receive the Africa File via email, please subscribe here.

Key Takeaway: The United States brokered an early-stage peace framework between the DRC and Rwanda. M23 recaptured the Kaziba chiefdom south of Bukavu, the South Kivu provincial capital. Congolese religious leaders traveled to Doha, the Qatari capital, to discuss the leaders’ initiative to promote inter-Congolese dialogue. M23 reoccupied several villages on the RN2 road in between Kalehe and Kabare districts in northern South Kivu. M23 reoccupied several villages near the RP529 road in western Masisi district.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

M23 reportedly clashed with the Congolese army (FARDC) in a village near the Lubero district capital. Independent Congolese journalist Daniel Michombero reported on social media that M23 attacked FARDC positions in two villages—including in Lunyasenge, which is about 4 miles south of Kipese village—on April 28.[i]  Kipese is roughly 15 miles south of Lubero town. M23 last clashed with pro-Congolese government forces near Lubero in late March.[ii]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23 recaptured the Kaziba chiefdom, which is south of Bukavu, the South Kivu provincial capital. Congolese media reported that M23 recaptured Lwanguku—the chiefdom capital—on April 27 after launching an offensive from the surrounding hills that led pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters to withdraw.[iii] The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported on April 26 that M23 reinforcements had bypassed FARDC and Wazalendo positions east of Kaziba near the RN5 road.[iv] M23 initially launched its offensive on the Kaziba chiefdom from rural villages south of Bukavu on April 23.[v] M23’s control of Kaziba would allow M23 to reopen several potential lines of advance westward to Mwenga district on the RN2 road, eastward to the RN5 on the border with Rwanda and Burundi, and southward via a forested route toward Fizi district and Uvira town on Lake Tanganyika.[vi] Burundian troops and Wazalendo fighters retook Kaziba chiefdom from M23 in mid-March after M23 reportedly faced supply shortages, and M23 fighters left the area to advance southward through a forested path toward Minembwe town in southern South Kivu.[vii]

M23 reoccupied several villages on the RN2 road in between Kalehe and Kabare districts in northern South Kivu. M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters and reoccupied several villages near Katana on the RN2 road on April 27 after Wazalendo fighters dislodged M23 from two hills in the area on April 26.[viii] Congolese media reported on April 27 that M23 redeployed “nine dump trucks” of troops to reinforce the area.[ix] Radio Okapi claimed that some M23 reinforcements also reached the area after crossing Lake Kivu on speedboats from Rwanda.[x] A journalist for Tazama RDC reported on social media that M23 clashed with Wazalendos in Kasheke village—about six miles north of Katana—on April 28.[xi]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 reoccupied several villages near the RP529 road in western Masisi district. M23 reoccupied Kibati village—roughly 21 miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529 road—and Kasopo, which is about 12 miles east of Kibati, on April 26.[xii] Wazalendo fighters had captured Kibati and Kasopo on April 25 as part of ongoing fighting to control the RP529, which links the district capitals Masisi and Walikale.[xiii] The Congolese news outlet Actualite.cd reported on April 28 that M23 began “strengthening their positions” near Kasopo and in Kashebere—six miles east of Kibati.[xiv]

Southwest Axis : Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

The United States brokered an early-stage peace framework between the DRC and Rwanda. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, DRC Foreign Minister Thérèse Wagner, and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe signed a declaration of principles agreement on April 25, which “outlines a pathway to peace, stability, and integrated economic development” in the eastern DRC.[xv] US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for African affairs, Massad Boulos, had met with several heads of state in the Great Lakes region and the Qatari foreign minister in April to lay the groundwork for the agreement.[xvi] The Qatari foreign ministry released a statement in support of the US-brokered agreement on April 25.[xvii]

The DRC and Rwanda agreed to six points of commitment as part of the peace framework. The DRC and Rwanda agreed to “acknowledge each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and find solutions to the conflict in the eastern DRC “by peaceful means... rather than hostile force or rhetoric.”[xviii] The DRC and Rwanda acknowledged each other’s “legitimate security concerns in their shared border region” and committed to “limiting the proliferation of non-stated armed groups” in the shared border area and “refraining from providing state military support to non-state armed groups.”[xix] The two parties agreed to a “phased regional economic integration framework” backed by “significant investments,” including from the United States in infrastructure, mining, and hydropower, among other sectors.[xx] The DRC and Rwanda also agreed to facilitate the return of Congolese refugees living in Rwanda to the eastern DRC and internally displaced persons in the eastern DRC to their areas of origin.[xxi] The two parties committed to support UN-backed peacekeeping forces in the eastern DRC.[xxii] The two parties committed to formalize these commitments into a comprehensive peace agreement and coordinate “through existing channels” an initial draft of the agreement “for mutual review” by May 2.[xxiii]

Congolese religious leaders traveled to Doha, the Qatari capital, to discuss the leaders’ initiative to promote inter-Congolese dialogue. A journalist for the French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on social media that the religious leaders arrived in Doha on April 27.[xxiv] The religious leaders had previously met with several African heads of state, European leaders, Congolese officials and opposition politicians, and M23 leaders, who expressed support for the peace effort.[xxv]