Congo War Security Review, March 20, 2026

Data Cutoff: March 20, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Read CTP’s assessment on the restart of the Washington Peace Accords in Deadlock in the DRC: Africa File Special Edition.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here.    

Key Takeaway: The United States hosted senior representatives from the DRC and Rwanda for the first meetings in the Washington process since late 2025. Fighting between M23 and pro-Congolese government forces broke out in the Ruzizi Plain north of Uvira town in South Kivu. The Congolese government approved a major sale of mining assets located in the southern DRC to a US-backed firm. The acting head of the UN force in the DRC met with M23 officials in Goma to discuss humanitarian issues.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly conducted a night raid and attacked M23 in four villages in the Mutanda group, including Mirangi, in the northern part of Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on March 17.[1] Mirangi is about nine miles north of Nyanzale town on the RP1030. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that Wazalendo fighters also clashed with M23 in Ibuga village in Rutshuru, which is less than a mile north of Kashuga on the RP1030 in Masisi district, on March 18.[2] The last reported clash near this part of the RP1030 was around March 12, when Wazalendo fighters had attacked M23 in Kashuga.[3]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Fighting between M23 and pro-Congolese government forces broke out in the Ruzizi Plain north of Uvira town in South Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Radio Maendeleo reported that M23 and Wazalendo fighters had clashed in several villages on the front line on the RN5 in the Ruzizi Plain, including in Kabunambo—three miles south of M23-controlled Sange town—in late February and early March.[4] Tensions reignited around March 15, when Wazalendo fighters reportedly cut off civilian traffic to M23-held areas on the RN5 at Kasambura, three miles south of Kabunambo, accusing some locals of spying on their military positions on behalf of M23 recently.[5] A local source told the Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd on March 18 that they believed that the Burundian government requested the road closure, suspecting M23 “infiltration” from the plain.[6] Significant fighting reportedly broke out around Runingu, Biriba, Kabunambo, and Sange on the RN5 and midland areas to the west of the RN5 on March 17, with senior M23 officials and M23-aligned sources claiming that the DRC coalition initiated the engagements and shelled M23 positions.[7] M23-aligned journalist Rodriguez Katsuva claimed on social media on March 17 that the DRC-appointed South Kivu governor ordered an offensive against M23 on the Ruzizi Plain on March 15.[8] M23-aligned sources claimed that M23 repelled the offensive and conducted counterattacks, and the group and M23-aligned Twirwaneho fighters reportedly seized control of Kirungu and Mitamba—two villages that connect Minembwe town in the Fizi district highlands to Uvira town roughly five and 15 miles west of Uvira town, respectively—during fighting that occurred on March 16.[9] An unspecified M23 source told Katsuva on March 17 that the group did not aim to retake Uvira town but “push back” pro-Congolese government forces.[10] The Congolese army (FARDC) denied on March 18 that it initiated the recent fighting and that the M23 coalition took control of Kirungu or made gains in the Ruzizi Plain.[11] Pro-Congolese government journalists reported on March 17 that the FARDC intervened and blocked any attempt for the M23 coalition to advance toward Kirungu after they took control of Mitamba.[12] Pro-Congolese government journalist Daniel Michombero claimed that reports that Congolese government authorities fled to Bujumbura or Baraka after the fighting escalated in South Kivu were false.[13] Michombero claimed on March 17 that Rwandan troops had crossed into the DRC from Rwanda via the Ruzizi II border post at an unspecified time.[14] The French investigative outlet Africa Intelligence reported on March 20 that Congolese officials “highlighted Rwanda’s role” in the recent fighting during bilateral meetings with US officials earlier this week.[15]

The FARDC also reportedly clashed with Twirwaneho fighters in the South Kivu highlands. M23 and M23-aligned sources claimed that the FARDC and allied forces conducted drone attacks on Twirwaneho positions in Bidegu and Mikenge villages near Minembwe town in Fizi district, the latter about 15 miles north of Minembwe town on the RP527 in Mwenga district, on March 17.[16] The FARDC claimed on March 19 that 20 members of the M23 coalition surrendered to the FARDC in Mikenge.[17]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

M23 recaptured a village from Wazalendo fighters near the RP1030 in Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly retook control of Malemo village on the RP1030 in Masisi district from Wazalendo fighters on March 17, after Wazalendo fighters withdrew.[18] Malemo is about 16 miles east of Pinga on the RP1030. Wazalendo fighters had captured the village after two days of fighting with M23 on March 16.[19]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

The United States hosted senior representatives from the DRC and Rwanda for the first meetings in the Washington process since late 2025. Senior military and political officials and envoys for DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame participated in bilateral meetings with US officials on March 17 and a trilateral meeting in Washington, DC, on March 18.[20] The United States, the DRC, and Rwanda released a joint statement that said that the DRC and Rwanda agreed to a “series of coordinated steps to de-escalate tensions and advance progress on the ground.”[21] The French state media outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported on March 20 that the United States wants both sides to fully implement the military plan under the US-brokered framework by the end of 2026, with an initial assessment before April 15.[22] RFI reported that the United States pressed the DRC to neutralize the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and Rwanda to withdraw its troops and equipment, and identified six operational zones—five in M23-controlled areas, and one in an area that the Congolese government controls—for anti-FDLR operations.[23] Africa Intelligence reported that Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump’s Africa adviser, warned that the United States would sanction both parties if they violate their commitments during the March 18 trilateral meeting.[24] The last technical meeting related to the US-mediated peace process took place in Washington in November 2025.[25]

The acting head of the UN force in the DRC met with M23 officials in Goma to discuss humanitarian issues. The UN humanitarian coordinator and acting head of the UN force in the DRC, Bruno Lemarquis, met with M23’s political head, Corneille Nangaa, in Goma to discuss the humanitarian crisis in the eastern DRC on March 17.[26] The meeting came after Lemarquis had condemned drone attacks on Goma, allegedly carried out by the FARDC, that killed a French national working for the UN and two other individuals on March 11.[27]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

The Congolese government approved a major sale of mining assets located in the southern DRC to a US-backed firm. The Congolese government and DRC state mining company Gécamines reportedly approved the sale of assets owned by Dubai-based Chemaf, a copper and cobalt producer that owns the Mutoshi and Etoile mines in the former Katanga region in southern DRC, to a consortium led by US-based Virtus Minerals on March 13.[28] Africa Intelligence reported on March 17 that US State Department and Trump administration officials voiced support for support the sale on several occasions.[29] Tshisekedi had sacked the chief executive officer and the chairman of Gécamines in late February, reportedly in part for their opposition to the sale.[30]