Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: March 4, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: M23 claimed that it commissioned over 1,500 new special force fighters. The Congolese army and allied forces clashed with M23-aligned militia fighters in the South Kivu highlands. M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in the midlands northwest of Uvira town in South Kivu. M23 recaptured a village from pro-Congolese government forces west of Masisi town in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

M23 repelled an incursion by pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 repelled the incursion in Bukombo town in the Bwito chiefdom in western Rutshuru on March 3.[1] The last reported kinetic activity in the Bukombo group was on February 26, when M23 clashed with an unidentified armed group on patrol near Mweso on the RP1030.[2]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

The Congolese army (FARDC) and allied forces clashed with M23-aligned militia fighters in the South Kivu highlands. The FARDC and allied forces reportedly conducted attacks on M23-aligned Twirwaneho militia fighters using artillery and drones in an attempt to capture Minembwe town in Fizi district on March 3 and 4.[3] M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka denounced the attacks and claimed that pro-Congolese government forces targeted civilians around Minembwe in a statement on social media on March 3.[4] A Twirwaneho sniper reportedly shot and killed FARDC Colonel Joseph Nganzo Olikwa, alias Ziro Ziro, and two other officers amid the fighting in Kitavi—four miles north of Minembwe center—on March 3.[5] Ziro Ziro was the Deputy Commander of the 12th Rapid Reaction Brigade in Minembwe.[6] The European Union had sanctioned him for “attacks on civilians and serious human rights violations, in particular rapes of women” in 2022.[7] M23-aligned media sources reported that the two sides also clashed in Mikenge, about 15 miles north of Minembwe on the RP527 in Mwenga district, on March 3 and 4.[8] The FARDC had reportedly captured Mikenge, along with several villages around Minembwe, around March 1.[9]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in the midlands northwest of Uvira town in South Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters in the midlands in the Runingu group in Bafuliru chiefdom in Uvira district on March 3.[10] Runingu-center is about 17 miles north of Uvira town on the RN5. The last reported kinetic activity near the Ruzizi Plain was when the FARDC and M23 had reportedly clashed in the Kigoma and Lemera groups along the RN5 in Bafuliru in mid-February.[11]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

M23 recaptured a village from pro-Congolese government forces west of Masisi town in North Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters and dislodged them to take control of Kazinga village in the Nyamaboko group in Masisi on March 3.[12] Kazinga is about 13 miles west of Masisi town on a local road. M23 had launched a counteroffensive to recapture various areas around Masisi and Rubaya towns last week, following a FARDC-Wazalendo offensive in late February.[13]

Pro-Congolese government forces repelled an M23 attack near the RP1030 in Walikale district in North Kivu. The FARDC and Wazalendo fighters reportedly repelled the attack on a hill that overlooks Katobi village on the RP1030 on March 2.[14] Katobi is about two miles west of Mpeti on the RP1030. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that the M23 fighters who launched the attack came from Mpeti, which is M23’s forward position on the RP1030.[15] M23 last clashed with Wazalendo fighters near Katobi on February 24.[16]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

M23 claimed that it commissioned over 1,500 new fighters. M23 held a passing out ceremony for what the group claimed was 1,518 “mobile special forces” who completed training at the group’s main military base in Rumangabo near Goma and became “fully operational” on March 2.[17] CTP is unable to verify the claim of this figure or the date of the video. Senior M23 military leaders, including Sultani Makenga, the group’s operational commander—rumored to be dead after an FARDC drone strike in late February—presided over the ceremony.[18] The last pass-out ceremony the group held was in early February, when M23 claimed that it commissioned over 7,500 new fighters.[19]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

Nothing significant to report.