Congo War Security Review, March 6, 2026

Data Cutoff: March 6, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: The United States announced visa restrictions on several senior Rwandan officials. The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes urged all parties to halt attacks and implement their peace commitments. The UN appointed a new head for the UN force in the DRC. Pro-Congolese government forces clashed with M23-aligned militia fighters in the South Kivu highlands.

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 clashed with M23-aligned militia fighters in the South Kivu highlands. M23-aligned independent journalist Héritier Munyampfura reported that M23-aligned Twirwaneho militia fighters clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Kitavi, about four miles north of Minembwe center, on March 6.[1] A Twirwaneho sniper had reportedly shot and killed three Congolese army (FARDC) officers amid the fighting in Kitavi on March 3.[2] The FARDC and allied forces have clashed with Twirwaneho and captured several villages around Minembwe in a possible attempt to capture town since early March.[3]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

M23 withdrew from two villages west of Masisi town in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly regained control of two villages west of Masisi town in the Osso Banyungu sector—Ndete and Buabo—on March 6, after M23 withdrew from the area on March 5.[4] Ndete and Buabo are about nine and seven miles west of Masisi town on local roads, respectively. M23 had recaptured nearby Kazinga, about four miles from Ndete, as part of its counteroffensive in Masisi on March 3.[5]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

M23 reportedly recaptured two villages in northern Mwenga district in South Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with the FARDC and allied forces and captured two remote villages in the Ntondo group in the Burhinyi chiefdom in northern Mwenga on March 5.[6] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of the villages. The Ntondo group is located roughly 20 miles west of the Twangiza industrial gold mine in southern Walungu district on a local road.

Major Political Developments  

The United States announced visa restrictions on several senior Rwandan officials. The US State Department said in a press release on March 6 that it will impose visa restrictions on “several senior Rwandan officials” for “fueling instability” in the eastern DRC by continuing to back M23 in violation of the Washington Peace Accords.[7] The State Department called on all parties to implement their peace commitments.[8] The US Treasury Department had sanctioned the entire Rwandan army (RDF) and top RDF officials on March 2.[9]

The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes (ICG) urged all parties to halt attacks and implement their peace commitments. The ICG, composed of the United States, the European Union, and nine European countries expressed concern about recent ceasefire violations and the use of drones in the eastern DRC conflict in a statement on March 5.[10] The ICG called on all parties to cease hostilities and return to peace talks.[11] The ICG expressed support for an inclusive inter-Congolese dialogue and called on all parties to stop inciting hatred, discrimination or violence, including against Rwandophone communities.[12]

The UN appointed a new head for the UN force in the DRC. UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed former US diplomat James Swan as head of the UN force in the DRC on March 5.[13] Swan was the US ambassador to the DRC from 2013 to 2016 under former US President Barack Obama.

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

Nothing significant to report.