Congo War Security Review, March 2, 2026

Data Cutoff: March 2, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: The United States sanctioned the Rwandan army (RDF) and called for the RDF’s immediate withdrawal from the eastern DRC. M23 conducted another drone attack on the Congolese army’s (FARDC’s) airbase in Kisangani in the central DRC. M23 recaptured the Katoyi sector capital from pro-Congolese government forces in southern Masisi district in North Kivu. The FARDC captured several villages around Minembwe town as fighting continued in the South Kivu highlands.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

M23 clashed with armed militants in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that an M23 unit clashed with an unidentified armed group on patrol near Mweso town in the Bwito chiefdom in western Rutshuru on February 26.[1] M23 regularly clashes with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in areas that it controls in western Rutshuru.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

The Congolese army (FARDC) captured several villages around Minembwe town as fighting continued in the South Kivu highlands. CTP reported previously that the FARDC and allied forces had clashed with M23-aligned Twirwaneho fighters in several villages near Minembwe, specifically Bidegu, Ilundu, and Irumba, and in Mikenge village in Mwenga district—about 15 miles north of Minembwe on the RP527—earlier last week.[2] Pro-Congolese government media sources circulated a video on social media purporting to show a Rwandan army plane transporting weapons and ammunition to Minembwe around February 24.[3] M23, Twirwaneho, and M23-aligned sources claimed that pro-Congolese government forces bombed and conducted “coordinated attacks” on Minembwe and surrounding villages, particularly on Kalingi, using one-way attack (OWA) drones on February 28 and March 1.[4] Twirwaneho and M23-aligned sources claimed that the group recaptured Ilundu from pro-Congolese government forces on March 1.[5] The FARDC claimed on March 2 that it captured Bidegu and Kakenge—another village reportedly near Minembwe—along with Mikenge and Bilalombili, the latter about five miles south of Mikenge.[6] The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that Twirwaneho had abandoned Mikenge before FARDC troops entered and took control of the village on March 1.[7] The FARDC claimed that it captured over 20 enemy combatants and killed close to a dozen Twirwaneho fighters amid the fighting, among them a brigade commander and a logistics officer.[8] The FARDC claimed that it also captured enemy weapons and ammunition, including anti-drone “laser” weapons.[9]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani  

M23 conducted another drone attack on the FARDC’s airbase in Kisangani in the central DRC. The Tshopo provincial government claimed that FARDC ground-based air defense systems intercepted and shot down four OWA drones carrying cluster munitions near the FARDC’s airbase at the Kisangani airport on March 1.[10] Kisangani is the headquarters of the FARDC’s third defense zone, and its airport has been a major air and logistic hub for the FARDC’s air assets. Acualite.cd reported that the attack resulted in negligible damage to the airport’s infrastructure.[11] CTP forecasted on February 26 that M32 could target Kisangani using OWA drones in retaliation for the death of a senior M23 military commander in an FARDC drone strike on February 24.[12] M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka officially acknowledged Ngoma’s death and claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on March 2.[13] Kanyuka said that M23’s “forces deployed on the outskirts” of Kisangani conducted a “targeted operation” to destroy FARDC drones that are used to bomb civilians and its positions in the eastern DRC.[14] M23 had first targeted Kisangani in two separate attacks using OWA drones on January 31 and February 5.[15]

M23 recaptured the Katoyi sector capital in southern Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly recaptured the main town in the Katoyi sector from the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters on March 1.[16] The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported that M23 then extended its control over several surrounding villages.[17] M23’s capture of Kasenyi on the border between Katoyi and the Osso Banyungu sector to the north on February 25 had reportedly allowed the group to advance toward Katoyi center.[18] Wazalendo fighters had captured the main town in Katoyi and numerous other villages when it launched an offensive in southern Masisi around February 20.[19]

M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack in the Bahunde chiefdom northeast of Masisi town. M23 reportedly repelled a Wazalendo attack in Muheto village, about 13 miles northeast of Masisi town on a local road, on March 1.[20] Kivu Morning Post reported on March 2 that M23 reinforcements moved through Nyakariba village en route to Muheto to secure the area.[21]

Fighting between M23 and pro-Congolese government forces also took place west of Masisi town. FARDC-Wazalendo fighters had captured Kazinga and Kibanda, a nearby village to the south, in the Nyamaboko group on February 24.[22] Kazinga is about 13 miles west of Masisi town on a local road. CTP reported previously that M23 had conducted counterattacks and clashed with Wazalendo fighters for control of Kazinga and nearby areas between February 25 and 27.[23] Radio Okapi reported that the FARDC conducted a drone strike on an M23 convoy on a road between Mushaki and Rubaya town to the southeast on February 27.[24] M23 reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Lukole—about two miles north of Kazinga—and Mashaki and Ndete villages, which are about three and four miles east of Kazinga on a local road, respectively, on February 28.[25]

M23 captured Wazalendo positions northwest of Masisi town near the border with Walikale district. Wazalendo fighters from Buhimba village in Walikale had reportedly attacked M23 and captured Mahanga, about six miles south of the RP529 near the border with Walikale, on February 24.[26] Wazalendo fighters from Buhimba had then attacked another M23 position in Kibanda, in between Mahanga and Kazinga, on February 25.[27] CTP reported on February 27 that fighting between the two sides reportedly occurred in Mahanga.[28] Fighting reportedly broke out again in Mahanga on February 28, and M23 reportedly reasserted control over the village and used its position in the village to take control of Kibanda and advance roughly four miles to dislodge Wazalendo fighters and capture Buhimba on March 1.[29] M23 reportedly also used its position in Kasopo—about five miles northeast of Buhimba—to support the assault on Buhimba.[30]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Nyabiondo town and on the RP529 in Walikale district. The FARDC had reportedly conducted a drone attack on an M23 position in Nyabiondo town in Masisi on February 26.[31] M23 had then reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters in a village about three miles north of Nyabiondo in Kinyumba on February 27.[32] Actualite.cd reported that new clashes between M23 and the FARDC-Wazalendo broke out in Kinyumba on February 28, when M23 attacked enemy positions in an attempt to regain control of the area.[33] Fighting also took place west of Nyabiondo on the RP529 in Walikale. Pro-Congolese government forces attacked M23 and attempted to capture Kibati village on the RP529 on February 28.[34] Kibati is M23’s forward position on the RP529, about 14 miles west of Nyabiondo on the RP529 in Walikale. The two sides reportedly clashed again in Kibati on March 1.[35] Fighting continued on March 2, when M23 reportedly repelled another enemy attempt to capture the village.[36] Actualite.cd reported on March 2 that M23 deployed reinforcements to Kibati from Kashebere village on the RP529.[37]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments 

The United States sanctioned the Rwandan army (RDF) and called for the RDF’s immediate withdrawal from the eastern DRC. The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the RDF and four senior RDF officials on March 2.[38] The four sanctioned officials are the army’s Chief of Staff, the commander of the RDF’s 5th Infantry Division, the RDF’s Chief of Defense Staff, and the RDF’s Special Operations Force Commander.[39] The Treasury Department said in a press release that it sanctioned these officials and the RDF as an organization for violating its commitments to the Washington Accords by providing “direct operational support” to M23 and its affiliates and jeopardizing the security and stability of the DRC.[40] The Treasury Department said that the RDF’s military support to M23 has directly enabled the group’s territorial gains.[41] The US State Department said in a separate press release that Rwandan support has enabled M23’s “horrific human rights abuses.”[42] The Treasury Department said that M23’s continued presence near the border with Burundi risks widening the conflict into a larger regional war.[43] US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that the United States expects the “immediate withdrawal” of the RDF from the eastern DRC.[44]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

Nothing significant to report.