Congo War Security Review, January 7, 2026

Data Cutoff: January 7, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: Angolan President João Lourenço will reportedly try to facilitate dialogue among Congolese leaders. M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Walungu district in South Kivu. M23 announced new land management rules. M23 repelled Wazalendo attacks in Rutshuru district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

M23 repelled pro-Congolese government Wazalendo attacks in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack in Kyahemba village in the Bukombo group in Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on January 5.[i] Kyahemba is about nine miles northwest of Kitchanga town on the RP1030 in Masisi district. Kivu Morning Post reported separately that M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack near Bukombo center, which is about five miles east of Kyahemba on a local road, on January 6.[ii] Wazalendo fighters clash regularly with M23 in Bwito, especially in Bukombo, where M23 and the Rwandan army conduct counterinsurgency operations against Wazalendos and fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).

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

Nothing significant to report.  

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Walungu district in South Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters using light and heavy weaponry in three village groups in Walungu, mainly in Cirhavanyi, Ikoma, and Izege villages in the northern part—the latter about five miles north of Walungu town—on January 4 and 5.[iii]

Major Political Developments  

Angolan President João Lourenço will reportedly try to facilitate dialogue among Congolese leaders. Lourenço had met with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi in Luanda, the Angolan capital, to discuss the security situation in the eastern DRC on January 5.[iv] Tshisekedi said that Lourenço initiated the meeting and that the Angolan president submitted “very interesting” proposals for peace in the eastern DRC conflict.[v] The M23-aligned Congolese journalist Steve Wembi reported on January 6 that Lourenço agreed at Tshisekedi’s request to “discreetly gather” a range of Congolese leaders and actors, including M23, the political opposition, and religious and civil society leaders.[vi] CTP is unable to verify this report. Tshisekedi’s visit was his second trip to Luanda in less than a month, following his previous visit on December 14.[vii]

M23 announced new land management rules. Bertrand Bisimwa, the deputy chief of M23’s political wing, announced that the group would enforce general restrictions and “conservatory measures” for territory under its control in a statement on January 6.[viii] Bisimwa listed specific restrictions and prohibitions for “all land assets, developed or underdeveloped” in M23-controlled areas, such as for transferring ownership, subdividing plots, or building any new structure without prior authorization from the group.[ix] Bisimwa said that M23 would prosecute and sanction anyone who does not abide by the new rules.[x]