Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: April 10, 2026, 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 Doha talks are set to resume in Switzerland next week. The Congolese army (FARDC) recaptured several villages from M23 in northern Kalehe district in South Kivu. The FARDC and allied forces reportedly attacked and clashed with M23 near Nyabiondo town in Masisi district in North Kivu. Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in Rutshuru district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in several villages in the Kihondo group in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on April 9.[i] The Kihondo group is about two miles south of Nyanzale on the RP1030 in northern Bwito.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

The Congolese army (FARDC) recaptured several villages from M23 in northern Kalehe district in South Kivu. The FARDC reportedly clashed with M23 and recaptured several villages, including Tushunguti, in the Ziralo group in northern Kalehe between April 9 and 10.[ii] Wazalendo fighters also reportedly clashed with M23 in a village bordering Ziralo in the Ufamandu group in the Bahunde chiefdom in southern Masisi district on April 9.[iii] Tushunguti is about 18 miles west of Numbi, a mineral trading center near the RN2, on a local road. M23 had taken control of Tushunguti and at least seven other villages after reportedly attacking the FARDC in Ziralo between April 6 and 8.[iv] The FARDC and allied forces have clashed with M23 in multiple groups in northern and central Kalehe since the end of March. As many as 40,000 people have reportedly fled amid the fighting in Kalehe in recent days.[v]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

The FARDC and allied forces reportedly attacked and clashed with M23 near Nyabiondo town in Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 and M23-aligned sources claimed that the FARDC and allied forces attacked M23 positions using drones and heavy artillery in Nyabiondo town in Masisi district between April 8 and 9.[vi] Actualite.cd reported that the two sides clashed in two villages near Nyabiondo, including in Mahanga—about 10 miles southwest of Nyabiondo on the RP529—on April 10.[vii] The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that fighting also took place near Kinyumba village, which is about three miles north of Nyabiondo, on April 8.[viii] Wazalendo fighters had previously clashed with M23 near Nyabiondo in two villages near Lukweti, about 11 miles north of Nyabiondo, on April 5.[ix]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments

The Doha talks are set to resume in Switzerland next week. The Congolese government and a six-member M23 delegation will reportedly meet in Switzerland for peace talks under the framework of the Doha process from April 13 to 17.[x] The talks have been at an impasse in recent weeks, in part due to constraints on Qatar’s ability to host the talks amid the war in the Middle East.[xi] The French investigative outlet Africa Intelligence reported on April 9 that the Congolese government rejected a proposal to hold the talks in Zambia or Togo, the latter of which is the African Union mediator for the eastern DRC conflict.[xii] The Congolese government reportedly refused to renew expired passports to facilitate travel to Europe for senior M23 leaders.[xiii] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on April 10 that Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump’s Africa adviser, will represent the United States at the talks.[xiv] The outlet reported that Qatar will participate virtually and Vivian van de Perre, the acting head of the UN force, and the head of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) will also attend the meetings.[xv]

The two sides will resume negotiations on the peace framework agreement that they signed in November 2025. The framework contains eight pillars of separate negotiating tracks to address specific key issues, two of which have already been signed but not implemented—the ceasefire verification mechanism and prisoner exchange.[xvi] The last meetings under the Doha process were in early February, but they were technical meetings focused on making progress in establishing the ceasefire mechanism. The two sides will reportedly evaluate the implementation of the first two protocols and focus on the third pillar of the framework, which is humanitarian access. They may also possibly address disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of local armed groups and the establishment of transitional security arrangements in impacted areas.[xvii] The issue of prisoner exchange between the DRC and M23 as a confidence-building measure reportedly remains a source of contention, however.[xviii]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

Nothing significant to report.