Congo War Security Review, February 27, 2026

Data Cutoff: February 27, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: The United States and the DRC took steps to increase security cooperation. M23 recaptured several villages from pro-Congolese government forces in an ongoing counteroffensive in Masisi district in North Kivu. Pro-Congolese government forces reportedly conducted air attacks on M23-aligned militia positions in the South Kivu highlands. The United States and the DRC signed a $1.2 billion memorandum of understanding for health cooperation.

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

Pro-Congolese government forces reportedly conducted air attacks on M23-aligned militia positions in the South Kivu highlands. M23-aligned journalists and sources claimed on social media that the Congolese army (FARDC) and its Burundian ally conducted drone attacks on M23-aligned Twirwaneho positions in Rugezi, roughly 20 miles south of Minembwe town in the Fizi highlands, on February 26.[1] Pro-Congolese government forces have been conducting an offensive against Twirwaneho fighters around Minembwe since late January but reportedly have been unable to make significant territorial gains.[2]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

M23 recaptured several villages from pro-Congolese government forces in an ongoing counteroffensive in Masisi district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that telecommunications were restored around Rubaya on February 25, after bombings that took place in intense clashes between the two sides had damaged cell towers in the area on February 24.[3] CTP reported on February 25 that Wazalendo fighters had dislodged M23 and took control of multiple villages in an area roughly five to 10 miles west of Rubaya town between February 23 and 24.[4] M23 launched a counteroffensive and conducted counterattacks on pro-Congolese government forces to halt their advance and retake Kasenyi, about 11 miles west of Rubaya in the Kibabi group, on February 25.[5] Actualite.cd reported on February 26 that M23 redeployed reinforcements from its stronghold in Rutshuru district to the front lines in Masisi.[6] M23 reportedly retook control of Kasenyi, along with three other nearby villages—Luke, Katabotobo, and Chugi—after heavy fighting with the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters on February 25 and 26.[7] M23 had also reportedly dislodged Wazalendo fighters from Kaniro village, about 12 miles north of Rubaya, on February 25.[8] M23’s capture of Kasenyi— a key logistic node on routes to southern Masisi and to Rubaya from the west—allowed M23 to advance into the Katoyi sector, where the group clashed with Wazalendo fighters in an area about three miles from the main town in Katoyi on February 26, according to the Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi.[9] Wazalendo fighters had captured the main town in Katoyi and numerous other villages when it initially launched an offensive earlier this week.[10]

Fighting also continued west and northwest of Masisi town. FARDC-Wazalendo had fighters reportedly attacked M23 and captured Kazinga and Kibanda, another nearby village to the south, in the Nyamaboko group on February 24.[11] Kazinga is about 13 miles west of Masisi town on a local road. M23 reportedly conducted counterattacks on several Wazalendo positions near Kazinga in an attempt to take the village on February 25.[12] Clashes continued on February 26, as it remained unclear who controlled the town, although Actualite.cd reported that Wazalendo fighter repelled the attacks and still controlled it.[13] The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 captured a remote village in the Nyamaboko group at least six miles from Kazinga on February 27.[14] Fighting also took place in an area near Mahanga village, about six miles south of the RP529 near the border with Walikale district, where pro-Congolese government forces reportedly launched attacks on M23 to capture Mahanga on February 26.[15] The FARDC reportedly conducted a drone attack on an M23 position in Nyabiondo town, about 10 miles northeast of Mahanga on the RP529, on February 26.[16] M23 then reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters in a village about three miles north of Nyabiondo in Kinyumba on February 27.[17]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments

The United States and the DRC took steps to increase security cooperation. The United States and the DRC had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for an expanded security partnership under the Washington Accords framework in early December 2025.[18] The US chargé d'affaires to the DRC, Ian McCary, and the US defense attaché met with the Congolese defense minister in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, on February 26 and agreed to boost intelligence sharing, implement training programs, and conduct joint military exercises in the coming months.[19] The French investigative outlet Africa Intelligence reported that DRC President Félix Tshisekedi was expected to meet with General Dagvin Anderson, the commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), in Kinshasa on February 26.[20] The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in late 2025 but was rescheduled to early this year.[21] General Anderson had met with the Congolese foreign minister on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 15.[22] An AFRICOM team led by Colonel Michael Gacheru had traveled to the DRC to liase with FARDC leaders and lay the ground for General Anderson’s visit to Kinshasa from January 20 to 23.[23]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

The United States and the DRC signed an MOU for health cooperation. The US State Department announced on February 26 that it signed a five-year, $1.2 bilateral health MOU with the DRC.[24] The United States has signed bilateral health MOUs with 18 African countries as of February 26.[25]