Congo War Security Review, April 28, 2025

Data Cutoff: April 28, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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

Read CTP’s latest analysis on peace talks between the DRC, M23, and Rwanda in the Congo War Security Review Special Edition: Slow and Steady – What to Make of DRC-M23 Peace Talks.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here. To receive the Africa File via email, please subscribe here.

Key Takeaway: The United States brokered an early-stage peace framework between the DRC and Rwanda. M23 recaptured the Kaziba chiefdom south of Bukavu, the South Kivu provincial capital. Congolese religious leaders traveled to Doha, the Qatari capital, to discuss the leaders’ initiative to promote inter-Congolese dialogue. M23 reoccupied several villages on the RN2 road in between Kalehe and Kabare districts in northern South Kivu. M23 reoccupied several villages near the RP529 road in western Masisi district.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

M23 reportedly clashed with the Congolese army (FARDC) in a village near the Lubero district capital. Independent Congolese journalist Daniel Michombero reported on social media that M23 attacked FARDC positions in two villages—including in Lunyasenge, which is about 4 miles south of Kipese village—on April 28.[i]  Kipese is roughly 15 miles south of Lubero town. M23 last clashed with pro-Congolese government forces near Lubero in late March.[ii]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23 recaptured the Kaziba chiefdom, which is south of Bukavu, the South Kivu provincial capital. Congolese media reported that M23 recaptured Lwanguku—the chiefdom capital—on April 27 after launching an offensive from the surrounding hills that led pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters to withdraw.[iii] The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported on April 26 that M23 reinforcements had bypassed FARDC and Wazalendo positions east of Kaziba near the RN5 road.[iv] M23 initially launched its offensive on the Kaziba chiefdom from rural villages south of Bukavu on April 23.[v] M23’s control of Kaziba would allow M23 to reopen several potential lines of advance westward to Mwenga district on the RN2 road, eastward to the RN5 on the border with Rwanda and Burundi, and southward via a forested route toward Fizi district and Uvira town on Lake Tanganyika.[vi] Burundian troops and Wazalendo fighters retook Kaziba chiefdom from M23 in mid-March after M23 reportedly faced supply shortages, and M23 fighters left the area to advance southward through a forested path toward Minembwe town in southern South Kivu.[vii]

M23 reoccupied several villages on the RN2 road in between Kalehe and Kabare districts in northern South Kivu. M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters and reoccupied several villages near Katana on the RN2 road on April 27 after Wazalendo fighters dislodged M23 from two hills in the area on April 26.[viii] Congolese media reported on April 27 that M23 redeployed “nine dump trucks” of troops to reinforce the area.[ix] Radio Okapi claimed that some M23 reinforcements also reached the area after crossing Lake Kivu on speedboats from Rwanda.[x] A journalist for Tazama RDC reported on social media that M23 clashed with Wazalendos in Kasheke village—about six miles north of Katana—on April 28.[xi]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 reoccupied several villages near the RP529 road in western Masisi district. M23 reoccupied Kibati village—roughly 21 miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529 road—and Kasopo, which is about 12 miles east of Kibati, on April 26.[xii] Wazalendo fighters had captured Kibati and Kasopo on April 25 as part of ongoing fighting to control the RP529, which links the district capitals Masisi and Walikale.[xiii] The Congolese news outlet Actualite.cd reported on April 28 that M23 began “strengthening their positions” near Kasopo and in Kashebere—six miles east of Kibati.[xiv]

Southwest Axis : Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

The United States brokered an early-stage peace framework between the DRC and Rwanda. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, DRC Foreign Minister Thérèse Wagner, and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe signed a declaration of principles agreement on April 25, which “outlines a pathway to peace, stability, and integrated economic development” in the eastern DRC.[xv] US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for African affairs, Massad Boulos, had met with several heads of state in the Great Lakes region and the Qatari foreign minister in April to lay the groundwork for the agreement.[xvi] The Qatari foreign ministry released a statement in support of the US-brokered agreement on April 25.[xvii]

The DRC and Rwanda agreed to six points of commitment as part of the peace framework. The DRC and Rwanda agreed to “acknowledge each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and find solutions to the conflict in the eastern DRC “by peaceful means... rather than hostile force or rhetoric.”[xviii] The DRC and Rwanda acknowledged each other’s “legitimate security concerns in their shared border region” and committed to “limiting the proliferation of non-stated armed groups” in the shared border area and “refraining from providing state military support to non-state armed groups.”[xix] The two parties agreed to a “phased regional economic integration framework” backed by “significant investments,” including from the United States in infrastructure, mining, and hydropower, among other sectors.[xx] The DRC and Rwanda also agreed to facilitate the return of Congolese refugees living in Rwanda to the eastern DRC and internally displaced persons in the eastern DRC to their areas of origin.[xxi] The two parties committed to support UN-backed peacekeeping forces in the eastern DRC.[xxii] The two parties committed to formalize these commitments into a comprehensive peace agreement and coordinate “through existing channels” an initial draft of the agreement “for mutual review” by May 2.[xxiii]

Congolese religious leaders traveled to Doha, the Qatari capital, to discuss the leaders’ initiative to promote inter-Congolese dialogue. A journalist for the French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on social media that the religious leaders arrived in Doha on April 27.[xxiv] The religious leaders had previously met with several African heads of state, European leaders, Congolese officials and opposition politicians, and M23 leaders, who expressed support for the peace effort.[xxv]