Congo War Security Review

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Key Takeaway: M23 reportedly announced its intention to attack a key military hub on the border between Masisi and Walikale districts. The DRC made a recent push to advance talks with the United States on a minerals deal. Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 on the RN2 in northern South Kivu. A senior M23 official in South Kivu reportedly asked AFC head Corneille Nangaa to remove Manu Birato from the South Kivu governorship. Human Rights Watch reported that M23 committed war crimes in Goma.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 on the RN2 in northern South Kivu. Independent Congolese journalist Steve Mulindwa reported on social media that Wazalendos attacked M23 in Katana village on the RN2 on June 4.[i] Congolese Journalist Yassin Kombi reported that Wazalendos launched the attack from Kabushwa on the outskirts of the densely populated Katana area.[ii] M23 responded to the attack and clashed with Wazalendo fighters in the area.[iii] 

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 reportedly announced its intention to attack Pinga, a key military hub on the border between Masisi and Walikale districts. Congolese media sources reported that M23 made the announcement during a local meeting in the Kisimba group—north of Pinga in the Kisimba-Ikobo Primate Reserve—where M23 captured multiple villages in late May.[iv] M23 has continued to reinforce its positions around Pinga in Masisi and Walikale districts in recent days. The Congolese news outlet Kivu Morning Post reported on June 4 that M23 has moved troops northward through the Mweso area on the RP1030 and clashed with Wazalendo fighters in recent days.[v] The Congolese news outlet Actualite.cd reported on June 3 that M23 has been reinforcing troops and military equipment on the RP1030 road from Kalembe village toward Pinga since May 30.[vi] Actualite.cd cited several sources in Masisi who said that M23 deployed heavy weapons to Mpeti village, about 10 miles east of Pinga on the RP1030, as a “prelude to the announced attack.”[vii] The outlet reported that M23 has also been strengthening its positions near Nyabiondo—35 miles south of Pinga on a local road in Masisi district—since May 30.[viii]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

The DRC made a recent push to advance talks with the United States on a minerals deal. French media reported that DRC President Félix Tshisekedi established a “strategic coordination unit” within his office comprised of at least 22 senior cabinet members and DRC government officials in mid-May to oversee discussions with the United States.[ix] The French state media outlet Radio France Internationale reported that the unit reflects Tshisekedi’s decision to “centralize actions and maximize every chance of success.”[x] The US is negotiating a minerals deal with the DRC in parallel with a US-led peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda that is expected to be finalized by late June.[xi]

A senior M23 official in South Kivu reportedly asked AFC head Corneille Nangaa to remove Manu Birato from the South Kivu governorship. A leaked memo on social media signed by Radjabu Shamwesi, a top M23 official in South Kivu, recommended that Nangaa remove Birato from the provincical leadership on June 2.[xii] Shamwesi accused Birato of embezzlement from an M23-run electricity company in South Kivu.[xiii]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that M23 committed war crimes in the North Kivu provincial capital of Goma. HRW reported that M23 summarily executed at least 21 civilians in Goma in late February.[xiv] M23 targeted civilians and “young men” suspected of collaborating with the Congolese government and committing crime in the Kasika neighborhood in Goma.[xv] Kasika was the location of a former Congolese army barracks before M23 captured the city in late January.[xvi] M23 communication officials, Lawrence Kanyuka and Willy Ngoma, denied the report on social media and called it “nothing more than a propaganda tool” in service of the DRC government.[xvii]

HRW reported that the executions were part of M23’s early efforts to consolidate control in Goma “by whatever means necessary.”[xviii] M23 conducted similar clearing operations in search of armed or “suspicious” military-age males in several neighborhoods in Goma and the nearby city of Sake in May and early June.[xix] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on June 3 that M23 has recently transported some detainees to M23’s main military training base in Rutshuru district.[xx] Jeune Afrique also reported that M23 restarted construction of a new detention center in Sake.[xxi] CTP previously reported that M23 has faced challenges in securing Goma and Bukavu, the South Kivu provincical capital, which undermines its image and legitimacy.[xxii]

The Congolese government banned national media outlets from reporting on former DRC President Joseph Kabila. The DRC government’s media regulatory agency issued the suspension for a period of 90 days beginning on June 2.[xxiii] The DRC prohibited Congolese media outlets, including television and radio stations, print and digital press, news websites, and other news sources, from disseminating Kabila’s public statements in any form or “covering, commenting on, or relaying information” relating to Kabila’s political party.[xxiv]

UN member states elected the DRC as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on June 3. The DRC will serve a two-year term beginning in January 2026 through the end of 2027.[xxv] The DRC has previously served on the UN Security Council twice from 1982 to 1983 and from 1990 to 1991.[xxvi]