Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: October 31, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST 

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Read CTP’s assessment on DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s actions to strengthen his position and consolidate power here.

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

Key Takeaway: M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo forces in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 retook control of a village from Wazalendo fighters in southern Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 conducted cordon and search operations in Goma and Bukavu in North and South Kivu. 

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas 

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo forces in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo forces in Kiyeye village, about five miles west of Nyanzale on a local road, in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on October 29 and 30.[i]

M23 conducted a cordon and search operation in Goma in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 conducted the operation in the Ndosho neighborhood in Karisimbi commune in Goma on October 31.[ii] M23 had conducted a similar operation in Goma on October 17.[iii]

M23 conducted a cordon and search operation in Bukavu in South Kivu. M23 said that it conducted the operation targeting criminals in the Panzi neighborhood in Ibanda commune on the southern edge of Bukavu on October 30.[iv] The group said that it confiscated weapons and narcotics in the operation.[v] The Congolese media outlet Radio Maendeleo reported on October 29 that armed actors have recently caused insecurity in Panzi and other areas of Bukavu.[vi] M23 last conducted a cordon operation in Bukavu in early October.[vii]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia 

Nothing significant to report. 

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report. 

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

M23 retook control of a village from Wazalendo fighters in southern Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with Wazalendos and recaptured Ndete town in the Katoyi sector in southwest Masisi near the border with Walikale district on October 30.[viii] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of Ndete. M23 had clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Ndete and in the Katoyi sector, including in Remeka—about 13 miles southwest of Rubaya—on several occasions in early October.[ix]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report. 

Major Political Developments 

Nothing significant to report.

Data Cutoff: October 29, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST 

To receive the Africa File and Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here.

Read CTP’s assessment on DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s actions to strengthen his position and consolidate power here.

Follow CTP on X, LinkedIn, and BlueSky for daily updates. 

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

Key Takeaway: The Congolese army and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked and clashed with M23 in several areas near the RP529 in western North Kivu. France is set to host a peace conference on the African Great Lakes on October 30. The UN appointed members to a human rights commission for the eastern DRC. M23 reportedly captured a senior commander of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR).

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

Nothing significant to report. 

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

The Congolese army (FARDC) and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked and clashed with M23 in several areas near the RP529 in western North Kivu. The FARDC reportedly conducted a drone strike on M23 positions near Muhanga village, about ten miles south of Kashebere along the RP529, in Walikale district on October 28.[i] M23 reportedly repelled several Wazalendo attacks in Kibati village, about six miles west of Kashebere and 14 miles west of Nyabiondo along the RP529, on October 28.[ii] The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters about three miles north of Nyabiondo on a local road in Kinyumba village on October 28.[iii] Actualite.cd reported separately that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters near Kashebere on October 29.[iv]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments 

France is set to host a peace conference on the African Great Lakes. The French president, in coordination with Togo, the African Union (AU) mediator, plans to host the conference in Paris on October 30.[v] Between 50 to 70 countries and international organizations are expected to attend the conference, which will mostly be closed-door.[vi] DRC President Félix Tshisekedi will reportedly be in attendance.[vii] Massad Boulos, US President Donald’s Trump’s Africa advisor, will also be present, along with several senior officials involved in regional affairs, including the Angolan foreign minister, the Belgian foreign minister, the European Union’s High Representative, Qatar’s Africa representative, and the head of UN forces in the DRC.[viii] The Togolese president and the five AU co-facilitators will also participate.[ix] French state media reported on October 28 that the Burundian, Rwandan, and Ugandan presidents will not travel to Paris, however, for unspecified reasons.[x] France did not invite M23 representatives to the conference.[xi]

The peace conference revolves around regional economic integration and the diplomatic and humanitarian aspects of the eastern DRC conflict, particularly fundraising efforts for non-governmental organizations and a push to reopen the Goma and Kavumu airports in North and South Kivu, respectively.[xii] France has insisted that the initiative does not aim to compete with ongoing peace processes but channel focus to humanitarian challenges and opportunities for economic integration across the Great Lakes, namely in Burundi and Uganda—not just in the DRC and Rwanda.[xiii] International organizations are reportedly expected to discuss the issue of bureaucratic restrictions and limited access to conflict areas caused by all parties in the eastern DRC, especially in light of M23’s tax policies and the group’s issuance of its own travel requirements in areas that it controls in early October.[xiv] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on October 29 that participating organizations will also likely ask the Congolese government to restore banking services in M23-controlled areas—a major cause of economic malaise in North and South Kivu.[xv]

The UN appointed members to a human rights commission for the eastern DRC. The UN Human Rights Council appointed three members to chair the commission on October 27.[xvi] The council asked the members to undertake their first visit to North and South Kivu to investigate alleged violations and abuses by January 2026.[xvii] The Congolese government welcomed the appointments in a statement released on October 28.[xviii] The UN had established the commission in February 2025.[xix]

M23 reportedly captured a senior commander of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR). M23 and pro-M23 sources claimed that M23 captured Yoweri “Tokyo” in Kalungu village in the Bashali Mokoto group in Masisi district in North Kivu on October 24.[xx] The M23-appointed vice governor of North Kivu said the capture was a “significant loss” for pro-Congolese government forces on social media October 25.[xxi] The arrest marks M23’s first significant capture of a high-ranking FDLR official since March, when M23 arrested at least 14 senior FDLR members and handed them over to Rwanda.[xxii]

Data Cutoff: October 27, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST 

To receive the Africa File and Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here. 

Follow CTP on X, LinkedIn, and BlueSky for daily updates.

Read CTP’s assessment on DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s actions to strengthen his position and consolidate power here.

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

Key Takeaway: Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 near the Lubero district capital in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 near Nyabiondo and Masisi towns on the RP529 in western Masisi district in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in southern Kabare district in South Kivu. M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in northern Mwenga district in South Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas

Nothing significant to report.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia 

Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 near the Lubero district capital in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked M23 south of Lubero town in Kalangira village in the Baswagha chiefdom on October 26.[i] CTP is unable to verify the location of Kalangira. Congolese media reported that the clash occurred near the buffer zone controlled by the Ugandan army on the frontlines in Lubero.[ii] The Congolese army distanced itself from the attack and claimed that M23 recently moved troops to two villages inside the buffer zone near Lubero town.[iii] It remains unclear whether these two villages are the same villages east of Lubero town that pro-M23 sources claimed on social media M23 captured, including Masereka, on October 26.[iv]

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

Nothing significant to report. 

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani 

Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 near Nyabiondo and Masisi towns on the RP529 in western Masisi district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported that Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in Lushebere village, about three miles north of Masisi town along the RP529, on October 24. [v] The outlet reported that Wazalendo fighters then attacked M23 around Nyabiondo on October 25.[vi]

M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack near the RP1030 in eastern Masisi district. M23 reportedly repelled the attack on the outskirts of Mweso in Mbuhi village near the RP1030 on October 26.[vii] Mweso is about 11 miles north of Kitchanga on the RP1030.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 in southern Kabare district in South Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked and dislodged M23 from several villages in the Luhago group in the Nindja chiefdom in southern Kabare on October 25.[viii] Luhago is in a remote area about eight miles north of Nzibira in Walungu district on a local road. M23 elements reportedly maintained a position in Luhago and tried unsuccessfully to retake several villages in Luhago on October 26.[ix] M23 last clashed with Wazalendos near Luhago in early October.[x]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in northern Mwenga district in South Kivu. Etienne Mulindwa, a journalist for the Congolese media outlet Radio Maendeleo, reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in the Ntondo group in the Burhinyi chiefdom on October 27.[xi] The Ntondo group is in a remote area roughly 20 miles west of the Twangiza industrial gold mine on a local road. Mulindwa reported that M23 also clashed with Wazalendo fighters near Twangiza in the Luhwinja chiefdom on October 27.[xii]

Major Political Developments 

Nothing significant to report.