Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: September 19, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: Prisoner exchange between the Congolese government and M23 has reportedly made slow progress. Pro-Congolese government forces recaptured a village and conducted air attacks on M23 positions in north-central Masisi district in North Kivu. Pro-Congolese government forces recaptured a village on the RP1030 between Masisi and Walikale districts from M23. M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters on the outskirts of Bukavu in South Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Pro-Congolese government forces recaptured a village and conducted air attacks on M23 positions in north-central Masisi district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that Congolese army (FARDC) “warplanes” conducted air attacks on M23 in Bibwe village in the Bashali chiefdom on September 19.[i] Bibwe is about 15 miles southeast of Pinga, a regional military and logistics hub. The M23 spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, claimed that the FARDC used a CH-4 attack drone and “two rotations” of a Sukhoi-25 fighter jet to attack Bibwe and three additional M23-occupied villages near Bibwe, including Hembe and Nyange, on September 19.[ii] Kanyuka said after the attacks that M23 was “now in a state of legitimate self-defense” and would “eliminate any threat at its source.”[iii] Actualite.cd reported that pro-Congolese government forces recaptured a village to the south of the contested area in Bashali—Kinyaongo, which is four miles north of Nyabiondo on a local road—and pushed back M23 two miles south on September 15.[iv] M23 had launched an offensive against pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Bashali in early September, capturing numerous villages with forces deployed from its supply points in Kitchanga and Kalembe on the RP1030 in eastern Masisi.[v]

Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in a village southwest of Nyabiondo in Masisi. Congolese media reported that Wazalendo fighters attempted to retake Kasopo village—seven miles southwest of Nyabiondo on the RP529—from M23 on September 19.[vi]

The FARDC and Wazalendo fighters recaptured a village near the RP1030 between Masisi and Walikale districts from M23. Actualite.cd reported that pro-Congolese government forces dislodged the rebels from Luola village in the Kisimba group in Walikale on September 16.[vii] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of Luola. The Kisimba group is located roughly 12 miles northeast of Pinga. Actualite.cd reported separately on September 18 that M23 began reinforcing its positions in Mpeti—roughly four miles southwest of Kisimba center—on the RP1030 on September 17 after losing Luola.[viii] Pro-Congolese government forces previously recaptured nearby Katobi village on the RP1030 from M23 on September 15 before taking Luola.[ix]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters on the outskirts of Bukavu in South Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Radio Maendeleo reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in several villages, including Muku, about eight miles from Bukavu center on the RN2 on September 17 and September 18.[x]

Major Political Developments

Prisoner exchange between the Congolese government and M23 has reportedly made slow progress. Massad Boulos, US President Trump’s Africa advisor, had announced last week that the two sides signed an exchange agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).[xi] The French state media outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported on September 19 that the DRC and M23 did not sign a joint document but separate, technical agreements with the ICRC.[xii] RFI reported that the two sides are finalizing their lists of prisoners for transmission to the ICRC.[xiii] RFI reported that the ICRC will only facilitate the swaps after both sides agree on the content of the lists, however. [xiv] The outlet reported that the exchange process has no defined timeline for implementation.[xv] The Congolese justice minister said that the DRC would refuse to release M23 prisoners accused of “serious crimes” during a press conference on September 17.[xvi]