Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: October 24, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST 

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Key Takeaway: The Congolese government refused to sign the US-brokered peace agreement in a proposed head of state ceremony on October 23. Members convened for the third meeting of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism. The Congolese army conducted another drone strike on an M23-controlled industrial gold mine in Mwenga district in South Kivu. France plans to host the Congolese and Rwandan presidents for a peace conference in late October.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas

M23 repelled a pro-Congolese government Wazalendo attack in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly repelled a Wazalendo attack on Kiwanja village on October 22.[i] Kiwanja is about two miles from Rutshuru town on the RN2. Congolese media reported that the incident was the first significant Wazalendo incursion in Kiwanja since M23 captured the town in late 2022.[ii]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia 

Nothing significant to report. 

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report. 

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

The Congolese army (FARDC) conducted an airstrike on M23 on the RP529 in western Masisi district in North Kivu. The FARDC reportedly targeted an M23 position near Kashebere village, about eight miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529, in the Luberike group on October 23.[iii] The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that the strike killed and injured an unspecified but significant number of people.[iv] Actualite.cd reported that M23 redeployed troops to Kashebere and at least two other villages on the RP529 from Nyabiondo after the FARDC airstrike on October 23.[v] The outlet cited local sources who said M23 fighters were “visibly angry” after the strike.[vi]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in north-central Masisi district. Congolese media sources reported on social media that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in at least three villages in the Bashali Mokoto group on October 22 and 23.[vii] CTP is unable to verify the location of the villages. Bashali Mokoto is roughly 15 miles southeast of Pinga, a military and logistics hub on the RP1030, on a local road. M23 has clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Bashali Mokoto frequently since mid-October.[viii]

M23 repelled a Wazalendo offensive near the RP1030 in Walikale district in North Kivu. M23 repelled several attacks from Wazalendo fighters who used heavy and light weaponry in Ihula village in the Kisimba group in Walikale on October 23.[ix] The Kisimba group is about six miles northeast of Kalembe village on the RP1030 on local roads. The FARDC had conducted airstrikes on M23 positions in Ilhula and Kalembe on October 21.[x] M23 has used Kalembe as a supply point to move troops and weaponry to the frontlines.

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters on the RP1030 in Masisi district. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Mpeti and Minjenje villages on the RP1030 on October 22.[xi] Mpeti is M23’s forward operating base on the RP1030, about 12 miles east of Pinga on the RP1030.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

The FARDC conducted another drone strike on an M23-controlled industrial gold mine in Mwenga district in South Kivu. The FARDC reportedly bombed the Twangiza gold mine in the Luhwinja chiefdom in Mwenga on October 23.[xii] The strike reportedly “severely damaged” the mine’s facilities, specifically its power generation infrastructure—fuel tanks and backup generators, which had already been taken offline after a previous FARDC strike on October 15.[xiii] The company that owns and formerly operated the mine told Reuters on October 21 that M23 has looted over 500 kilograms of gold worth $70 million since May.[xiv] The company accused M23 of transporting gold through underground tunnels and deploying “Rwandan technicians” to collect geological data and expand mining operations.[xv] M23 officials denied the company’s accusations on October 23.[xvi] M23 seized Twangiza in early May and had reportedly restarted production in mid-July.[xvii]

Major Political Developments 

The Congolese government refused to sign the US-brokered peace agreement in proposed a head of state ceremony on October 23. The French investigative outlet Africa Intelligence reported that Congolese officials refused a proposal from Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump’s Africa advisor, to sign the deal on October 23, citing the proposed date as “premature” amid persistent hostilities with M23.[xviii] The outlet reported that the United States is now aiming for the signing ceremony to take place on November 13.[xix]

Members convened for the third meeting of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM). The DRC and Rwanda, along with Qatar, Togo as the African Union (AU) representative, and the United States, held the third JCSM meeting in Washington, DC, on October 21 and 22.[xx] The members evaluated progress on the first phase of an operational order to neutralize the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and see Rwanda withdraw its troops and military equipment from the eastern DRC since the JCSM finalized the plan on October 1.[xxi] The readout said that the members then discussed “specific actions” to advance the plan.[xxii] The next phase is to execute the dual-sided plan on the ground, according to the timeline from the late-June peace agreement.[xxiii] The fourth JCSM meeting will take place on November 19 to 20.[xxiv]

The FDLR has yet to surrender despite pressure from the Congolese government. The FARDC had called on all FDLR factions to disarm and surrender peacefully to Congolese government authorities or UN forces for repatriation to Rwanda on October 10.[xxv] The French state media outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) cited several sources on October 21 who said that the group has still not surrendered, however.[xxvi] RFI reported that the DRC and Rwanda would present their proposals for operations against the FDLR if it refused to surrender during the JSCM meeting.[xxvii] The outlet cited a senior-level FARDC source who said separately that “no action is possible” on its part to neutralize the FDLR in M23-controlled areas.[xxviii]

France plans to host the Congolese and Rwandan presidents for a peace conference in late October. The French foreign ministry in coordination with Togo said that the conference is slated for October 30 and will focus on the humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC and efforts to support the US-led peace process and regional economic integration.[xxix] Africa Intelligence reported on October 23 that France invited the five co-facilitators of the AU-backed peace initiative in the eastern DRC and several African heads of state, including DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, both of whom confirmed their attendance.[xxx] France had postponed the conference several times since mid-2025.[xxxi]

The UN repatriated over 250 Rwandan refugees to Rwanda from the eastern DRC as part of the US-backed peace agreement. The UN collaborated with M23 to repatriate 277 Rwandan refugees to Rwanda from Goma via the Grande Barrière border post on October 21.[xxxii] Rwanda has repatriated between 800 to 1,000 refugees since August.[xxxiii] The DRC, Rwanda, and the UN had committed to find solutions to the refugee crisis and expedite refugee repatriations in late July in line with the US-backed peace accord.[xxxiv]

M23 accused the FARDC of violating the Qatari-brokered ceasefire. M23 said that the FARDC has violated the ceasefire with attacks “on all front lines” in a press conference in Goma on October 23.[xxxv] The Congolese government spokesperson rejected the accusation on October 23.[xxxvi] M23 denounced the FARDC’s ongoing air campaign and Wazalendo attacks on its positions across several districts in North and South Kivu.[xxxvii] M23 said that it would now respond “tit for tat” to any attack from pro-Congolese government forces.[xxxviii] The group denied that it is negotiating with the Burundian government and called on the Burundian army and all armed actors of Burundian origin to leave the eastern DRC and return to Burundi.[xxxix]