Congo War Security Review, October 29, 2025

Data Cutoff: October 29, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST 

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Key Takeaway: The Congolese army and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked and clashed with M23 in several areas near the RP529 in western North Kivu. France is set to host a peace conference on the African Great Lakes on October 30. The UN appointed members to a human rights commission for the eastern DRC. M23 reportedly captured a senior commander of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas

Nothing significant to report.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia 

Nothing significant to report. 

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report. 

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

The Congolese army (FARDC) and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked and clashed with M23 in several areas near the RP529 in western North Kivu. The FARDC reportedly conducted a drone strike on M23 positions near Muhanga village, about ten miles south of Kashebere along the RP529, in Walikale district on October 28.[i] M23 reportedly repelled several Wazalendo attacks in Kibati village, about six miles west of Kashebere and 14 miles west of Nyabiondo along the RP529, on October 28.[ii] The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters about three miles north of Nyabiondo on a local road in Kinyumba village on October 28.[iii] Actualite.cd reported separately that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters near Kashebere on October 29.[iv]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments 

France is set to host a peace conference on the African Great Lakes. The French president, in coordination with Togo, the African Union (AU) mediator, plans to host the conference in Paris on October 30.[v] Between 50 to 70 countries and international organizations are expected to attend the conference, which will mostly be closed-door.[vi] DRC President Félix Tshisekedi will reportedly be in attendance.[vii] Massad Boulos, US President Donald’s Trump’s Africa advisor, will also be present, along with several senior officials involved in regional affairs, including the Angolan foreign minister, the Belgian foreign minister, the European Union’s High Representative, Qatar’s Africa representative, and the head of UN forces in the DRC.[viii] The Togolese president and the five AU co-facilitators will also participate.[ix] French state media reported on October 28 that the Burundian, Rwandan, and Ugandan presidents will not travel to Paris, however, for unspecified reasons.[x] France did not invite M23 representatives to the conference.[xi]

The peace conference revolves around regional economic integration and the diplomatic and humanitarian aspects of the eastern DRC conflict, particularly fundraising efforts for non-governmental organizations and a push to reopen the Goma and Kavumu airports in North and South Kivu, respectively.[xii] France has insisted that the initiative does not aim to compete with ongoing peace processes but channel focus to humanitarian challenges and opportunities for economic integration across the Great Lakes, namely in Burundi and Uganda—not just in the DRC and Rwanda.[xiii] International organizations are reportedly expected to discuss the issue of bureaucratic restrictions and limited access to conflict areas caused by all parties in the eastern DRC, especially in light of M23’s tax policies and the group’s issuance of its own travel requirements in areas that it controls in early October.[xiv] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on October 29 that participating organizations will also likely ask the Congolese government to restore banking services in M23-controlled areas—a major cause of economic malaise in North and South Kivu.[xv]

The UN appointed members to a human rights commission for the eastern DRC. The UN Human Rights Council appointed three members to chair the commission on October 27.[xvi] The council asked the members to undertake their first visit to North and South Kivu to investigate alleged violations and abuses by January 2026.[xvii] The Congolese government welcomed the appointments in a statement released on October 28.[xviii] The UN had established the commission in February 2025.[xix]

M23 reportedly captured a senior commander of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR). M23 and pro-M23 sources claimed that M23 captured Yoweri “Tokyo” in Kalungu village in the Bashali Mokoto group in Masisi district in North Kivu on October 24.[xx] The M23-appointed vice governor of North Kivu said the capture was a “significant loss” for pro-Congolese government forces on social media October 25.[xxi] The arrest marks M23’s first significant capture of a high-ranking FDLR official since March, when M23 arrested at least 14 senior FDLR members and handed them over to Rwanda.[xxii]