Congo War Security Review, August 22, 2025

Data Cutoff: August 22, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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Read CTP’s forecast of DRC-M23 peace talks and the trajectory of the conflict in the eastern DRC in Challenges to Sustainable DRC-M23 Peace: Africa File Special Edition.

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

Key Takeaway: M23 launched a counterinsurgency operation against suspected Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) militants in Rutshuru district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in Rutshuru & Eastern Masisi Districts

M23 launched a counterinsurgency operation against suspected Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) militants in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 launched the operation against suspected FDLR militants and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Kahumiro village in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on August 20.[i] Kahumiro is located near the Rwindi river on the western edge of the Virunga National Park in Bwito, about four miles south of Kibirzi on a local road. Locals reported the use of light and heavy weaponry in the fighting.[ii] The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi cited local residents on August 21 who claimed that the operations have resulted in at least ten civilian fatalities, mainly Hutus and other ethnic groups in Bwito, and the displacement of “hundreds of households” to Kibirzi and nearby villages.[iii] CTP assessed previously that M23’s counterinsurgency campaign in Rutshuru violates multiple elements of the US-backed framework despite combating legitimate military targets.[iv]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Nothing significant to report.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Nothing significant to report.