Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: August 7, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: The Congolese government released M23 prisoners under the prisoner exchange mechanism. M23 expelled a Congolese government member from the joint ceasefire verification mechanism. Rwanda claimed that it repatriated around 300 refugees from the DRC. Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 north of Bukavu near the Kavumu airport in South Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

Nothing significant to report.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 north of Bukavu near the Kavumu airport in South Kivu. Congolese government-aligned media sources claimed on social media that clashes broke out between the two sides in Kabushwa village on the outskirts of Katana town on the RN2 in Kabare district on August 1.[1] Katana is about seven miles north of Kavumu on the RN2. Clashes reportedly resumed in the Buliriko neighborhood near Kavumu on August 2.[2] Congolese-government aligned sources claimed on social media on August 2 that the clashes occurred as the Rwandan army recently established a military position near Kavumu.[3]

M23-aligned Twirwaneho fighters clashed with pro-Congolese government forces in the South Kivu highlands. CTP reported previously that Twirwaneho captured several positions from pro-Congolese government forces to the north and south of Minembwe town in Fizi district, including Kimete and Kabanja villages—21 and 13 miles south and southwest of Minembwe, respectively—amid fighting that took place in late July.[4] Congolese-government aligned media sources claimed that Wazalendo fighters recaptured Kimete and Kabanja from M23-allied forces on July 31.[5] M23-aligned media sources claimed on social media on August 2 that M23 and Twirwaneho fighters moved into the Lulenge sector in southern Fizi near the border with Maniema province.[6] One Congolese-government aligned media source claimed on social media on August 2 that reports of clashes in Lulenge were false.[7] One M23-aligned media source and possible Twirwaneho fighter claimed on social media on August 3 that Twirwaneho fighters were present in Lulenge and that Wazalendos and fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) were nearby to the south in the Ngandja sector in Fizi.[8] Congolese-government aligned sources claimed on social media on August 4 and 5 that fighting between M23-allied and Wazalendo fighters resumed in Kabanja.[9] Twirwaneho’s spokesperson and a pro-Rwandan open-source intelligence source claimed on social media on August 7 that pro-Congolese government reinforcements, including contingents from the Burundian army, Congolese army (FARDC), FDLR, and Wazalendo, were converging on separate lines of advance to conduct an offensive on Kabanja.[10] Congolese government-aligned sources claimed that Twirwaneho and RED-Tabara fighters clashed with M23 troops in an internal dispute in at least four villages in Lulenge, including Kabingo, on August 6 and 7.[11] Kabingo is about five miles south of Minembwe center on a local road.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 near the Masisi district capital and the Masisi-Walikale district border in North Kivu. The Congolese news outlet Actualite.cd reported that the two sides clashed after M23 fighters attacked Wazalendo positions in Shango village on August 1.[12] Shango is south of the RP529 and around 13 miles south of Nyabiondo town. The Congolese news outlet Kivu Morning Post reported on August 4 that Wazalendos and M23 also clashed recently near Kahira village, which is about twenty miles northeast of Masisi town.[13]

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 near the RP1030 in Walikale district in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked M23 positions in several areas in the Ikobo and Kisimba groups in Walikale, including Buleusa, Rusamambu, and other nearby villages, on August 3.[14] The Kisimba group is located in a remote area in Walikale, about six miles north of Kalembe and 10 miles east of Pinga, and the Ikobo group is roughly 10 miles north of Pinga through a forested route. Actualite.cd reported separately that Wazalendos repelled an M23 attack on Rushihe village, which is reportedly near Katobo village, on August 6.[15] Katobo is in the Kisimba group around seven miles north of Kalembe. The two sides then reportedly clashed in Minjenje village, which is about 15 miles east of Pinga town on the RP1030, around August 6.[16]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

The Congolese government released M23 prisoners under the prisoner exchange mechanism. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the transfer of 15 M23-affiliated prisoners from Kinshasa-controlled Beni town in North to a drop-off point in M23-controlled Rutshuru district via Uganda on August 6 and 7.[17] The prisoners reportedly were not senior-ranking M23 members, and the French state news outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported that none were under a death penalty conviction by Congolese courts.[18] M23 claimed that only nine of the 15 individuals were on its exchange list but that the group accepted all of them.[19] The Congolese government spokesperson had told RFI on July 1 that the government transported the prisoners from Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, to a prison in Beni town.[20]

The prisoner exchange process has been largely stalled since April. The Congolese government and M23 had signed a prisoner transfer memorandum of understanding outlining specific procedures in line with the Qatari-brokered prisoner exchange agreement from September 2025 during meetings in Switzerland under the Doha process in mid-April.[21] The two sides had agreed to release 477 individuals in total—311 prisoners held by M23 and 166 on the government side—by April 28.[22] M23 had said that it was prepared to conduct the swaps.[23] RFI reported at the time that the Congolese government had not “given its signal” to the ICRC to conduct the exchange, despite finalizing the technical details, however.[24] French media had reported that Congolese law and “regulatory procedures” delayed the release of government-held M23 prisoners—the exact number of which was not “fixed” and some of whom the DRC was unwilling to release due to the government’s “delicate political position.”[25] RFI confirmed these details on the government side in new reporting on August 7.[26] RFI reported that the Congolese government had committed to release the prisoners and approved the lists “without having internally decided on the profiles it was actually prepared to release, some of which posed political difficulties beyond purely legal issues.”[27] The outlet reported that it was unable to determine whether the 15 people released by the Congolese government in the August transfer were on the original list of the 477 detainees negotiated in April.[28]

M23 expelled a Congolese government member from the joint ceasefire verification mechanism. Vivian Van de Perre, the deputy head of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), and three FARDC officers traveled to Goma in mid-July to participate in the first Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM+) meeting with M23 officers.[29] M23-aligned journalist Steve Wembi reported on August 1 that M23 expelled an FARDC major from the mechanism on July 27 and claimed that he was not one of the approved officers on the government side for the mechanism.[30] RFI reported on August 4 that M23 claimed that the expelled officer is a former member of Congolese military intelligence and suspected the government of sending him to Goma to conduct espionage.[31] RFI reported on August 4 that M23 had considered expelling all three officers.[32] The Congolese defense minister claimed on July 31 the expulsion was “without valid reason.”[33] Insider sources told RFI journalist Pascal Mulegwa on August 1 that there was a “protocol issue” between the Congolese government and the EJVM+ and that the expelled officer was not on the personnel list of three officers that the FARDC had submitted to the mechanism.[34] The EJVM+ is a ceasefire monitoring mechanism established in October 2025 that consists of an equal number of representatives from the Congolese government and M23, along with members from the African Union, Qatar, and the United States.[35] M23 and the DRC agreed to grant the EVJM+ access to their territory so that the body could produce a weekly report on the security situation on the ground.[36]

Rwanda claimed that it repatriated around 300 refugees from the DRC. Rwandan state media and Rwandan-aligned outlets reported that Rwanda received 302 refugees via border crossings in Rubavu and Rusizi districts in western Rwanda on August 5.[37] The last reported repatriation was in late July.[38] Around 3,000 refugees have returned to Rwanda this year, and Rwanda and the DRC reportedly agreed to repatriate 10,000 refugees in the second half of 2026 in line with the Washington Peace Accords.[39]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

Nothing significant to report.