Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: July 16, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: Qatar and the United States aim to broker a final agreement between the DRC and M23 by the end of this week. M23 clashed with suspected fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in the Bwisha chiefdom in Rutshuru district. A senior member in DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s political party claimed that the Congolese army thwarted a recent coup attempt. Congolese security services reportedly raided a property owned by former DRC President Joseph Kabila in Haut-Katanga province in southeastern DRC.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

M23 clashed with suspected fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in the Bwisha chiefdom in Rutshuru district. Congolese media reported that M23 clashed with FDLR fighters in several villages in the Nyabanira locality in the Binza group in Bwisha on July 15.[i]  Nyabanira is about 21 miles north of Rutshuru town. Local sources claimed that M23 initiated a counterinsurgency operation against suspected FDLR fighters in the area around July 13.[ii]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters on the northern outskirts of Bukavu in South Kivu. Congolese media reported that M23 attacked Wazalendos in several villages near Mudaka locality, roughly 10 miles north of Bukavu in Kabare district on the RN2, on July 16.[iii]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Nothing significant to report.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Qatar and the United States aim to broker a final agreement between the DRC and M23 by the end of this week. The French state media outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported that Qatari mediators and US officials are pushing for the two sides to agree to a declaration of principles agreement before cementing a final deal later this week.[iv] RFI cited a “Congolese source” who said that the DRC government will grant M23’s demand for the release of its prisoners “on a case-by-case basis, and not generally.”[v] RFI reported that the Congolese and Rwandan interior ministers met on the sidelines of the talks to “clarify their roles in supporting the process.”[vi]

A senior member in DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s political party claimed that the Congolese army (FARDC) thwarted a recent coup attempt. The DRC government arrested several senior FARDC officials, including former FARDC chief of staff, General Christian Tshiwewe, last week.[vii] The official in Tshisekedi’s political party claimed on July 15 that the DRC arrested Tshiwewe for his alleged involvement in a plot to “eliminate” Tshisekedi.[viii] The FARDC military spokesperson had said that the FARDC arrested Tshiwewe and other senior officers for “serious breaches of military discipline” on July 11.[ix]

Congolese security services reportedly raided a property owned by former DRC President Joseph Kabila in Haut-Katanga province in southeastern DRC. Congolese media reported that nearly 200 personnel from the Republican Guard, the presidential security force, searched a Kabila property near Lubumbashi in Haut-Katanga province in southeastern DRC on July 14.[x]