Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: January 5, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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

Key Takeaway: The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) plans to host a meeting on the security situation in the eastern DRC in mid-January. The Congolese army and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters recaptured several villages and clashed with M23 south of Uvira town in South Kivu. Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in several areas near the RP1030 in Walikale and northern Masisi districts in North Kivu. M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government forces on the frontlines west of Nyabiondo in Walikale district.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly ambushed an M23 contingent on patrol in the Virunga National Park, near Rumangabo on the RN2 in the Bwisha chiefom in Rutshuru, on December 24.[i] The Congolese media outlet Tazama RDC reported that Wazalendo fighters attacked and killed several rebel fighters in a separate ambush in Kabirangiriro village in the Mutanda group in northern Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on December 25.[ii] CTP is unable to verify the location of Kabirangiriro. The Mutanda group is in northern Bwito, located roughly around Kibirizi.

M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in southern Bwito. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in several villages near Katsiru in the Bukombo group on January 1 and 2.[iii] The outlet reported that at least two of the villages are historical strongholds of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).[iv] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of the villages. Katsiru is about 15 miles north of Kitchanga town on the RP1030 in Masisi district.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

The Congolese army (FARDC) and Wazalendo fighters recaptured several villages and clashed with M23 south of Uvira town in South Kivu. FARDC-Wazalendo fighters had attacked M23 on the frontline in Makobola, about 10 miles south of Uvira town on the RN5 in Fizi district, and recaptured the village on December 24 and 25, after M23 forces retreated about five miles north to Kigongo.[v] The two sides clashed in the hills around Kigongo and other nearby villages on December 26, and the FARDC bombed two M23 armored vehicles on the frontline and two motorized boats in the Kalundu port in Uvira town suspected of transporting military equipment and supplies for an M23 attack on FARDC units in Katongo, just north of Kigongo on the RN5.[vi] The Burundian media outlet SOS Médias Burundi reported that an FARDC attack drone operated from Bujumbura, Burundi’s economic capital and the FARDC’s rear base in South Kivu, conducted the strike on Kalundu.[vii] M23 reportedly shot down an FARDC fighter jet over Kigongo on December 26.[viii] SOS Médias Burundi reported on December 28 that the FARDC aircraft—co-piloted by a Russian national—had departed from Kalemie, the capital of Tanganyika province, and was returning from a bombing run on M23 positions north of Uvira town in Kiliba, Rutemba, and Kala villages on the RN5.[ix] The two sides continued clashing on the hills around Kigongo, Katongo, and Kabimba—about three miles south of Kalundu—from December 27 to 29.[x] The FARDC claimed that it retook control of Kigongo and another nearby village on December 30.[xi] Fighting resumed between the two sides in Kigongo, Katongo, and other surrounding areas on January 3 and 4, however.[xii]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in the Kalehe highlands in South Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Radio Maendeleo reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters near Bushaku and Nguliro villages in the Kalehe highlands on December 25.[xiii] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of the villages. M23 had clashed with the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters around the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in Kalehe and Kabare districts in South Kivu on several occasions in late December.[xiv]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani  

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 in several areas near the RP1030 in Walikale and northern Masisi districts in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Kalembe and Kalonge villages on the RP1030 on December 24.[xv] The outlet reported separately that Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Ihula village in the Kisimba group, about six miles north of Kalembe in a remote area in Walikale, on December 27.[xvi] Wazalendo fighters then clashed with M23 in a village near Minjenje village on the RP1030 on December 30.[xvii] Minjenje is about two miles southeast of Mpeti, which is M23’s forward position on the RP1030. Wazalendo fighters withdrew from the villages after conducting attacks on M23 in all three instances in late December.[xviii]

The FARDC conducted a drone strike on M23 in Masisi town in North Kivu. An FARDC attack drone reportedly bombed an M23 position in the Mont Ngaliema district of Masisi town on January 2.[xix] The strike reportedly targeted two M23 military positions in the town but hit a building operated by a humanitarian organization and injured at least 40 civilians.[xx] The UN mission in the DRC condemned the strike in a statement on January 3.[xxi]

M23 clashed with the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters on the frontlines west of Nyabiondo in Walikale. M23 reportedly repelled an FARDC-Wazalendo attack in Kibati on January 5.[xxii] Kibati is M23’s forward position on the RP529, about 14 miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529 in Walikale. Actualite.cd reported that FARDC and Wazalendo fighters repelled M23 attacks on its positions near Buhimba village, which is roughly 11 miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529 near the border between Walikale and Masisi districts, between January 1 and 3.[xxiii] Pro-Congolese government forces had recaptured Buhimba in late November, and the village reportedly serves as an important supply point for pro-Congolese government forces in this part of Walikale.[xxiv]

M23 and pro-Congolese government forces clashed for control of a village in southern Masisi district. M23 had captured Katoyi, the main town in the Katoyi sector in southern Masisi, on November 18.[xxv] The FARDC and Wazalendo fighters launched an offensive on December 28 and dislodged M23 from Katoyi and at least four other nearby villages on December 29.[xxvi]  Katoyi is in a remote area about 22 miles southwest of Rubaya on local roads. FARDC-Wazalendo fighters claimed to have captured close to 30 M23 combatants during the fighting in Katoyi.[xxvii] Clashes resumed on January 2 and 3, when M23 reportedly reinforced its positions and conducted attacks on Wazalendo fighters in an area about four miles from Katoyi.[xxviii]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) plans to host a meeting on the security situation in the eastern DRC in mid-January. Zambia is expected to host defense ministers and chiefs of staff from the armed forces of twelve ICGLR member states for a meeting in Livingstone, Zambia, from January 8 to 10.[xxix] French state media reported on January 4 that the meeting will focus on revamping the ICGLR’s Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) for a ceasefire in the eastern DRC.[xxx] The Congolese government and M23 had signed a ceasefire verification agreement that relied on the EJVM for implementation and monitoring in mid-October.[xxxi]

DRC President Félix Tshisekedi met with Angolan President João Lourenço to discuss the security situation in the eastern DRC. Tshisekedi visited Luanda, the Angolan capital, and met with Lourenço to discuss security and peace issues on January 5.[xxxii] Lourenço is the current chairperson of the African Union and a former mediator in the eastern DRC conflict.