Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: January 21, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: Pro-Congolese government forces retook control of Uvira town in South Kivu after M23 withdrew fully. Togo hosted a conference to strengthen African-led mediation in eastern DRC peace efforts. The Congolese army reportedly bombed an M23 position on the frontline in Lubero district in North Kivu. M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government forces north of the RP1030 in Walikale district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas

Nothing significant to report.  

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

The Congolese army (FARDC) reportedly bombed an M23 position on the frontline in Lubero district in North Kivu. An FARDC drone reportedly attacked M23 in two villages near Kipese but caused no casualties on January 18.[i] Kipese is roughly 15 miles south of Lubero town on the frontline. Congolese media sources reported on social media that M23 had reinforced its positions in Kipese and other frontline areas in Lubero beginning on January 16.[ii] The last reported kinetic activity between M23 and pro-Congolese government forces in Lubero was in early December.[iii]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Pro-Congolese government forces retook control of Uvira town in South Kivu after M23 withdrew fully. M23’s political head, Corneille Nangaa, had announced that the group would vacate Uvira in mid-December, but it maintained control of key points and installed interim military and political personnel in the town.[iv] Nangaa told the UN that M23 would leave the city and defer responsibility for its security to the international community on January 15, and the group withdrew the last of its reported 200 to 300 personnel under US pressure on the group and Rwanda two days later on January 17.[v] M23 reportedly withdrew to between 12 to 20 miles north of Uvira, near Sange village on the RN5 in the Ruzizi Plain, although the Congolese government and pro-Congolese government sources accused the group of maintaining a presence south of Uvira and in the mid-level highlands above the town.[vi]

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters retook control of the city’s key points—with multiple reports of widespread looting, violence, and attacks on ethnic Banyamulenge civilians—followed by Congolese army units and special forces later on January 18.[vii] Many Banyamulenge reportedly left the city with M23 on January 18 for fear of being targeted.[viii] Human Rights Watch said on January 20 that Wazalendos have targeted Banyamulenge and their property and prevented some civilians from fleeing the city since M23 withdrew.[ix] The Congolese government accused M23 of forcibly abducting some Banyamulenge and looting the city before the FARDC retook control, specifically construction materials and livestock.[x] The government said that it would continue FARDC deployments in the coming days to consolidate positions around the city, and that the provincial administration would return once security conditions improve.[xi] The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported on January 21 that the Burundian army has redeployed troops to Uvira and toward the Ruzizi Plain since M23’s withdrawal.[xii]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government forces north of the RP1030 in Walikale district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 attacked the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters in two villages in the Kisimba group, including Mpombi— two miles north of Mpeti, M23’s forward position on the RP1030—on January 21.[xiii] M23 has tried to capture Mpombi, a key town held by pro-Congolese government forces on the Mpeti-Pinga axis, on several occasions since late November 2025, including on January 13.[xiv] An FARDC attack drone reportedly conducted an airstrike on an M23 position north of Mpombi on the northern edge of Kisimba near Rusamambu village—about 10 miles northeast of Pinga—on January 19.[xv]

M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack on the RP1030 in Masisi district in North Kivu. Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 repelled Wazalendo incursions in Pilote and Bukama villages, which are about four miles and one mile north of Mweso on the RP1030, respectively, on January 19.[xvi] M23 had repelled a previous attack on Kalembe village, about 10 miles north of Mweso on the RP1030, on January 13.[xvii] Wazalendo fighters regularly attack M23 along the RP1030 to try to disrupt the rebels’ supply lines and dislodge them from their positions.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

Togo hosted a conference to strengthen African-led mediation in eastern DRC peace efforts. Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, the AU mediator for the DRC peace process, hosted the five AU co-facilitators, foreign ministers from several countries, and representatives from regional and international bodies for a conference in Lomé, the Togolese capital, on January 17.[xviii] The high-level conference focused officially on the “coherence and consolidation” of mediation efforts for the various peace processes.[xix] The final communiqué urged renewed talks under the Washington process and called for the relaunch of Qatari-mediated peace talks between the Congolese government and M23 to negotiate the six remaining pillars of the framework peace agreement from November.[xx] The conference restructured the organization and leadership of the mediation team, delineated the role and dossier of each facilitator, and took further steps to establish an independent joint secretariat to better facilitate meetings and coordination.[xxi] French state media reported on January 18 that participants discussed an “action plan” for the upcoming diplomatic calendar, with the facilitators expected to travel to the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi for a regional tour ahead of the AU heads of state summit in mid-February.[xxii]