* CTP will adjust the Congo War Security Review schedule from three times per week to every Friday, beginning on April 17. The publication will return to a triweekly schedule from June 1 through August 21. *

Data Cutoff: April 17, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: The United States reiterated its call for the DRC and Rwanda to immediately implement their peace commitments during a United Nations Security Council meeting. The DRC’s largest state mining company committed to export five times more the amount of copper to the United States than previously announced. The Congolese army and allied forces reportedly clashed with M23-aligned militia fighters in the South Kivu highlands. Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked M23 near the RP1030 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

The Congolese army (FARDC) and allied forces reportedly clashed with M23-aligned militia fighters in the South Kivu highlands. M23 and M23-aligned media sources claimed that the FARDC and allied forces clashed with and conducted drone attacks on M23-aligned Twirwaneho fighters in several villages around Minembwe town in Fizi district on April 15 and 17.[1] CTP reported previously that pro-Congolese government forces conducted drone attacks and clashed with Twirwaneho fighters in several villages surrounding Minembwe between April 13 and 14.[2]

The FARDC and allied forces allegedly attacked M23 in northern Kalehe district in South Kivu. M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka claimed that the FARDC and allied forces attacked M23 in several villages, including Chambombo, in northern Kalehe near the border with North Kivu on April 17.[3] Chambombo is roughly 13 miles southwest of Numbi, a mineral trading center, on a local road. CTP reported previously that Wazalendo fighters had recaptured Chambombo and several other villages from M23 on April 13, as part of fighting that has been ongoing in Kalehe since late March.[4]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked M23 near the RP1030 in Walikale district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Les Volcans reported that Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Ihula village in the Kisimba group in Walikale on April 16.[5] The Kisimba group is about six miles northeast of Kalembe village on the RP1030 on local roads.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

The United States reiterated its call for the DRC and Rwanda to immediately implement their peace commitments during a United Nations Security Council meeting. Tammy Bruce, the US Ambassador to the UN, called for the “immediate withdrawal” of Rwandan troops from the eastern DRC and for the FARDC to neutralize the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in areas under its control as part of the US-brokered peace agreement from June 2025.[6] Bruce reaffirmed that the United States will “explore all available tools” to ensure the long-term success of the peace accords, implying the use of sanctions.[7]

Significant US-Backed Regional Economic Activity

The DRC’s largest state mining company committed to export five times more the amount of copper to the United States than previously announced. The US media outlet Semafor reported on April 15 that DRC state mining company Gécamines has committed to export 500,000 tons of copper to the United States through its joint venture with Swiss trading company Mercuria.[8] The figure is five times more than the 100,000 tons that Gécamines had announced previously as a commitment in January 2026.[9]

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