Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: February 20, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

To receive the Africa File and Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here.  

Follow CTP on X, LinkedIn, and BlueSky for daily updates.  

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here.

Key Takeaway: The Congolese army (FARDC) and M23 accused each other of conducting attacks on their positions in violation of a ceasefire. A senior European Union official met with various officials in the Great Lakes to discuss the regional humanitarian crisis. The FARDC and allied forces reportedly clashed with M23-aligned fighters in the Fizi highlands in South Kivu. The UN repatriated over 300 refugees to Rwanda from the eastern DRC.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

Unidentified militants ambushed a humanitarian convoy in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Armed plainclothes militants reportedly ambushed and looted a Médecins Sans Frontières convoy in the Virunga National Park near Kibirizi village in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on February 18.[1] The Congolese media outlet La Prunelle RDC reported that there has been an uptick in attacks on civilians and vehicles operated by non-governmental organizations in the park in recent days.[2] The outlet reported that armed men had targeted several vehicles and civilians on the stretch of the road that traverses Virunga between Rwindi and Kibirizi on February 17.[3] The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi had reported that pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters and suspected militants from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) clashed with M23 in Kibirizi and Bambo villages on the edge of Virunga in Bwito on February 16.[4] Suspected FDLR militants had reportedly attacked M23 in an incursion on Kibirizi on February 8.[5]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

The Congolese army (FARDC) and allied forces reportedly clashed with M23-aligned fighters in the Fizi highlands in South Kivu. CTP reported previously that FARDC and allied forces had reportedly clashed with M23-aligned militia fighters in numerous villages around Minembwe town in Fizi district on February 17 and 18.[6] The Congolese media outlet Tazama RDC reported that the FARDC killed and captured an unspecified number of M23 recruits around Minembwe that recently graduated from training at M23’s facility in Tchanzu in Rutshuru on February 18.[7] FARDC-Wazalendo fighters reportedly clashed with M23-aligned Twirwaneho and Ngumino fighters in the highlands around Minembwe, including in Tuwetuwe, Bilalombili, and Mikenge villages, on February 19.[8] M23-aligned independent journalist Héritier Munyampfura cited local sources on February 19 who claimed that the FARDC conducted drone attacks on Twirwaneho positions amid the fighting.[9] Radio Okapi reported that the two sides are fighting for control of Point Zéro village, a hilltop east of Minembwe that controls access to the lowlands toward Lake Tanganyika.[10] Munyampfura reported that Twirwaneho killed a senior FARDC official in the fighting on February 19.[11]  Munyampfura reported separately that the FARDC conducted additional drone attacks as the fighting continued on February 20.[12] M23-aligned sources claimed on social media that the FARDC conducted air attacks on Twirwaneho positions around Minembwe on February 20.[13]

Wazalendo fighters reportedly clashed with M23 northwest of Bukavu in Kabare district in South Kivu. Pro-Congolese government independent journalist Daniel Michombero reported on social media that Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in two villages in the Bushwira group in Kabare on February 18.[14] The Bushwira group is about 14 miles northwest of Bukavu on a local road near the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 conducted a cordon and search operation on the RP1030 in Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly arrested and transferred a dozen people accused of collaborating with Wazalendo militias to an unknown location in a search operation in Kalembe and Kalonge villages on the RP1030 in Masisi on February 18.[15]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in southern Masisi district. Radio Okapi reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in three villages in the Katoyi sector in southern Masisi, including Mitimingi, on February 20.[16] Mitimingi is in a remote area in Katoyi, about 26 miles southwest of Rubaya on local roads.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

The FARDC and M23 accused each other of conducting attacks on their positions in violation of a ceasefire. DRC President Félix Tshisekedi had agreed in principle to a ceasefire with M23 proposed by Angolan President João Loão Lourenço that would have taken effect on February 18.[17] M23 has said on multiple occasions since February 13 that it does not recognize the Angolan-proposed ceasefire and is solely committed to the Doha process.[18] The FARDC accused M23 of attacking its positions in North and South Kivu on February 18 and 19 in a formal statement on February 19.[19] The FARDC claimed that Rwandan special forces participated in the attacks.[20] The FARDC specifically accused M23 of attacking its positions in the Kisimba group in Walikale district in North Kivu, several positions in the Bambo group in Bwito in Rutshuru in North Kivu, and several villages around Minembwe in South Kivu.[21] The Wazalendo separately accused M23 of violating the February 18 ceasefire with attacks on its positions across North and South Kivu in a statement on February 20.[22] M23 officials accused pro-Congolese government forces of conducting ground and air attacks on its positions and civilians in the South Kivu highlands on February 19 and 20 in several statements.[23]

A senior European Union (EU) official met with various officials in the Great Lakes to discuss the regional humanitarian crisis. Hadja Lahbib, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, had met with Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, to discuss the humanitarian situation in the eastern DRC on February 17.[24] Lahbib then traveled to Burundi to meet with Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye and his foreign minister and visit the Busama refugee camp in northwestern Burundi that houses more than 70,000 Congolese refugees on February 18.[25] Burundian intelligence services reportedly arrested and briefly detained three reporters, including a photographer with Agence France-Presse, who were covering Lahbib’s visit in Bujumbura on February 18.[26] Lahbib went to Rwanda next and met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his foreign minister to discuss the humanitarian and security situation in the eastern DRC on February 19.[27] The EU’s special envoy to the Great Lakes, Johan Borgstam, accompanied Lahbib on the trip.[28] Lahbib finished the trip in Goma, where she said she had a “frank and constructive” meeting with senior M23 officials, including Corneille Nangaa, and various stakeholders and humanitarian partners on February 20.[29] Nangaa committed as “signs of good faith” to release 230 FARDC military personnel detained at the Katindo camp—a former FARDC barracks in Goma—41 young people accused of ties to FARDC-Wazalendo in Goma, and a hundred women with ties to FARDC-Wazalendo that M23 detained in Rumangabo.[30] Lahbib emphasized the need for expanded humanitarian access in her meetings with various officials on the trip—including the need to reopen the Goma airport—and said she obtained “concrete commitments” from all parties.[31]

The UN repatriated over 300 refugees to Rwanda from the eastern DRC. Rwanda reportedly repatriated 325 people to Rwanda via M23-controlled Goma on February 19.[32] The UN had previously repatriated 161 people to Rwanda via Goma on February 13.[33] Rwanda has repatriated thousands of people since it signed an agreement with the DRC and the UN to expedite refugee repatriations in line with the US-backed peace accord in late July 2025.[34]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

 Nothing significant to report.