Congo War Security Review, January 23, 2026

Data Cutoff: January 23, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government forces and the Congolese army conducted airstrikes on M23 in Walikale district in North Kivu.

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

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government forces and the Congolese army (FARDC) conducted airstrikes on M23 in Walikale district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 attacked the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters in Buma village in the Kisimba group in Walikale on January 23.[i] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of Buma. The Kisimba group is located in a remote area about six miles north of Kalembe on the RP1030 in Masisi district and 10 miles east of Pinga, a military and logistic hub. M23 had previously attacked the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters in two villages in the Kisimba group, including Mpombi— two miles north of Mpeti, M23’s forward position on the RP1030—on January 21.[ii] The FARDC conducted a drone strike on an M23 camp in Buleusa village in the Ikobo group in Walikale on January 23.[iii] Buleusa is an important administrative village in Ikobo, located roughly 11 miles northeast of Pinga on a forested route. An FARDC attack drone had conducted a previous airstrike on M23 near Buleusa in Rusamambu on the border between the Kisimba and Ikobo groups on January 19.[iv] An FARDC attack drone reportedly bombed an M23 position near Kikuku village in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on January 23.[v] Kikuku is east of Kisimba, about six miles north of Nyanzale on the RP1030.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments 

Nothing significant to report.