Congo War Security Review

* CTP will be pausing the Congo War Security Review for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States on January 19. The next update will publish as usual on January 21. *

Data Cutoff: January 16, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: M23 said that it would withdraw fully from Uvira town in South Kivu. M23-aligned fighters captured a village from pro-Congolese government forces near Minembwe town in the South Kivu highlands. M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. Suspected fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) attacked M23 in Rutshuru district.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Bumbasha—about three miles east of Mweso on the RP1030 a local road—in the Bukombo group in Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on January 15.[i] The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 then clashed with Wazalendos in the Kyahemba locality in Bukombo on January 16.[ii] Kyahemba is about nine miles northwest of Kitchanga town on the RP1030 in Masisi district. The clashes are part of M23 counterinsurgency operations against Wazalendo fighters that have escalated in Bukombo since earlier this week.[iii]

Suspected fighters from the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) attacked M23 in northern Bwito. Suspected FDLR militants reportedly attacked M23 in an incursion on Kibirizi village in the Mutanda group in northern Bwito on January 15.[iv] Kibirizi is on the edge of the Virunga National Park, about 10 miles south of the Rwindi airport near the RN2. Suspected FDLR militants and Wazalendo fighters from Virunga regularly conduct incursions on M23-controlled areas in this part of Bwito.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23-aligned fighters captured a village from pro-Congolese government forces near Minembwe town in the South Kivu highlands. M23-aligned Twirwaneho fighters had clashed with pro-Congolese government forces in Abala village—roughly 26 miles east of Minembwe via the RP527 and a local road—in Fizi district on January 12.[v] Twirwaneho had accused the Burundian army on January 8 of deploying additional troops to Bibogobogo and Point Zéro villages east of Minembwe near Abala.[vi] The Congolese army (FARDC) reportedly conducted numerous airstrikes on M23 and Twirwaneho positions in South Kivu on January 14, including on Twirwaneho positions around Minembwe.[vii] Twirwaneho fighters clashed with the FARDC in Point Zéro, about 16 miles east of Minembwe on a local road, and other nearby localities on January 15 and 16.[viii] Twirwaneho reportedly captured Point Zéro and claimed that it shot down an FARDC drone over Minembwe in the fighting on January 16.[ix] The independent Congolese journalist Héritier Munyampfura reported that fighting continued between Twirwaneho and pro-Congolese government forces in Mukoko village, which is near Minembwe, on January 16.[x]

Twirwaneho clashed with pro-Congolese government forces elsewhere in the South Kivu highlands. Twirwaneho fighters reportedly clashed with pro-Congolese government positions in Tubwetubwe village in the Itombwe sector in Mwenga district on January 16.[xi] CTP is unable to verify the location of Tubwetubwe.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Nothing significant to report.  

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Nothing significant to report.  

Major Political Developments  

M23 said that it would withdraw fully from Uvira town in South Kivu. Corneille Nangaa, M23’s political head, said that M23 would disengage from Uvira in a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on January 15.[xii] Nangaa had announced that M23 would leave Uvira in mid-December, but the group maintained control of key points and installed interim military and political personnel in the town.[xiii] Nangaa said that M23 would withdraw its “observation and monitoring unit” from the city and defer responsibility for the city’s security to the international community.[xiv] Nangaa called on the international community to deploy a peacekeeping force and prevent pro-Congolese government authorities from retaking control.[xv]

Data Cutoff: January 14, 2026, at 1 P.M. EST

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

Key Takeaway: The Congolese army conducted an airstrike on the M23-controlled Kalundu port in Uvira town in South Kivu. Pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 south of Bukavu in northern Walungu district in South Kivu. M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack on the RP1030 in Masisi district in North Kivu.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas    

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in Rutshuru district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in two villages near Mweso on the RP1030 in the Bwito chiefdom in Rutshuru on January 12 and 13.[i] M23 also clashed with Wazalendo fighters in heavy fighting in three villages, including Bumbasha—about three miles east of Mweso on a local road in Bwito—in counterinsurgency operations on January 12.[ii]

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia  

Nothing significant to report.  

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

The Congolese army conducted an airstrike on the M23-controlled Kalundu port in Uvira town in South Kivu. An FARDC attack drone reportedly bombed the Kalundu port in Uvira on January 14.[iii] M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka accused the FARDC of violating the Qatari-brokered ceasefire in a statement on social media on January 14.[iv] An FARDC spokesperson denied the attack.[v] An attack drone operated from Burundi had conducted a previous air attack on the Kalundu port on December 26.[vi]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 repelled a Wazalendo attack on the RP1030 in Masisi district in North Kivu. M23 reportedly repelled the attack in Kalembe village, about 10 miles north of Mweso on the RP1030, on January 13.[vii] Wazalendo fighters have repeatedly attacked M23 in Kalembe and along the RP1030 in attempts to disrupt the rebels’ supply lines and dislodge them from their positions.

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters north of the RP1030 in Walikale district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Mulema village in the Kisimba group in Walikale on January 12.[viii] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of Mulema. M23 clashes frequently with Wazalendo fighters for control over areas in Kisimba, which is in a remote area in Walikale about six miles north of Kalembe and 10 miles east of Pinga. Actualite.cd reported separately that Wazalendos then repelled M23 attacks in three villages in Kisimba, including Mpombi—two miles north of Mpeti on the RP1030—on January 13.[ix]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 south of Bukavu in northern Walungu district in South Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly ambushed an M23 convoy and killed several rebels in Kidodobo, about 10 miles south and north of Bukavu center and Walungu town in northern Walungu, respectively, on January 13.[x] M23 had clashed with Wazalendos in three village groups, including nearby Ikomba village, in northern Walungu on January 4 and 5.[xi]

Major Political Developments  

Nothing significant to report.  

Data Cutoff: January 12, 2026, 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 latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here.    

Key Takeaway: Angola is reportedly trying to facilitate talks among Congolese political elites. DRC President Félix Tshisekedi met with Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé to discuss the eastern DRC conflict. Defense ministries from the Great Lakes region met to further progress on ceasefire efforts in the eastern DRC. The Congolese army repelled an M23 attack south of Uvira town in South 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) repelled an M23 attack south of Uvira town in South Kivu. The FARDC claimed that it repelled an M23 attack in Katongo village on the RN5 in Uvira district on January 10.[i] Katongo is about four miles south of the Kalundu port in Uvira town on the RN5. The FARDC claimed that M23 had reinforced its positions on January 9 before conducting the attack.[ii] The FARDC and pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters had recaptured several villages and pushed M23 back toward Katongo on the RN5 in an offensive in late December and early January.[iii]

Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked M23 north of Uvira town on the RN5. The independent Congolese journalist Daniel Michombero reported on social media on January 10 that Wazalendo fighters ambushed and killed several M23 fighters in Runingu village in the Ruzizi Plain.[iv] Runingu is about 17 miles north of Uvira town on the RN5.

Pro-Congolese government forces reportedly bombed and clashed with M23-aligned fighters in the South Kivu highlands. M23 accused the FARDC of bombing M23-aligned Twirwaneho positions with attack drones in a locality near Minembwe town in Fizi district on January 12.[v] The Congolese media outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that Twirwaneho fighters clashed with pro-Congolese government forces in Abala village—roughly 26 miles east of Minembwe via the RP527 and a local road—in Fizi on January 12.[vi] Twirwaneho had accused the Burundian army (FDNB) on January 8 of deploying additional troops to Bibogobogo and Point Zéro villages east of Minembwe near Abala.[vii] The Burundian media outlet SOS Médias Burundi reported on January 9 that the FDNB deployed a new contingent of troops to this area in Fizi and to Kalemie, the Tanganyika provincial capital, from Burundi between December 29 and January 4 to relieve two isolated FDNB battalions in the highlands and support the FARDC and Wazalendo fighters against M23.[viii]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Wazalendo fighters clashed with M23 south of Masisi town in Masisi district in North Kivu. Wazalendo fighters reportedly attacked two M23 positions near Kazinga village, about 15 miles southwest of Masisi town, on January 11.[ix] The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 had redeployed troops to Kazinga from Nyabiondo and Masisi towns on January 9.[x] Wazalendo fighters had conducted an offensive and dislodged M23 from several villages in the Katoyi sector, southwest of Kazinga in southern Masisi, in late December.[xi]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu  

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in northern Mwenga district in South Kivu. M23 reportedly clashed with Wazalendo fighters in two remote villages in the Irangi group in the Luindi chiefdom in northern Mwenga on January 11.[xii] CTP is unable to verify the precise location of the villages. The Luindi chiefdom is in the Itombwe Mountains and borders the RN5 to the east in northern Mwenga.

Major Political Developments  

Angola is reportedly trying to facilitate talks among Congolese political elites. DRC President Félix Tshisekedi had met with Angolan President João Lourenço to discuss the terms of an Angolan-led dialogue among Tshisekedi and a range of Congolese leaders on January 5 and 8.[xiii] Tshisekedi had dispatched an envoy to meet with Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso on December 20.[xiv] French media reported on January 12 that Lourenço hosted former DRC President Joseph Kabila and two of his close associates for talks in Luanda, the Angolan capital, around December 21.[xv] Tshisekedi had made an initial visit to Luanda on December 14, just days after M23 captured Uvira town.[xvi] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported on January 12 that Lourenço denied Tshisekedi’s request for formal military assistance after the fall of Uvira but did offer political mediation.[xvii] Angola has reportedly already met with several members of the political opposition, including Moïse Katumbi, leader of the Ensemble pour la République.[xviii] Angola invited a delegation of religious officials to Luanda for informal talks on January 14 and is reportedly seeking to host certain opposition leaders in the near future.[xix] Lourenço reportedly invited M23 to Angola.[xx] Representatives from the Angolan government are reportedly expected to visit Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, to “explore intentions, listen to concerns, and assess the conditions” for a potential dialogue soon.[xxi] The Congolese government has officially denied that the Angolan-led initiative is a new peace process, and a source in Tshisekedi’s office told Jeune Afrique that “we are not going to Angola to prepare for a dialogue.”[xxii]

Tshisekedi has set conditions for the dialogue. Tshisekedi said on January 8 that he would respect a ceasefire as called for by Angola if M23 did the same.[xxiii] The M23-aligned journalist Steve Wembi reported on January 12 that the Congolese government is expected to announce a ceasefire at Angola’s request this week.[xxiv] The French investigative outlet Africa Intelligence reported on January 12 that Tshisekedi wants to exclude “armed groups” and some Congolese religious officials in a potential dialogue.[xxv] Corneille Nangaa, M23’s political head, told Lourenço in a January 9 letter that M23 views the initiative as “commendable in principle” but has doubts about the viability of another negotiating track and wants clarification on the purpose and details of the dialogue and its relation to the Qatari-led track.[xxvi] The Angolan foreign ministry said on January 11 that its foreign minister had a recent phone conversation with his Qatari counterpart and Massad Boulos, President Trump’s Africa advisor, regarding peace in the DRC.[xxvii]

Tshisekedi met with Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé to discuss the eastern DRC conflict. Tshisekedi visited Lomé, the Togolese capital, to discuss the security situation in the eastern DRC at Gnassingbé’s request on January 12.[xxviii] Gnassingbé is the designated mediator for the African Union-led peace process between the DRC, Rwanda, and M23. Tshisekedi last met with Gnassingbé in Kinshasa on December 22.[xxix] Togo is expected to host a “high-level” peace conference on the Great Lakes region on January 17.[xxx]

Defense ministries from the Great Lakes met to further progress on ceasefire efforts in the eastern DRC. Zambia hosted defense experts, chiefs of staff, and defense ministers from several member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) from January 8 to 10.[xxxi] The summit reportedly focused on security challenges on the regional level, revamping the ICGLR’s Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) for a ceasefire in the eastern DRC, reviewing the terms of the October 14 ceasefire agreement between the DRC and M23, and verifying M23’s withdrawal from Uvira town in South Kivu.[xxxii] French state media reported on January 12 that the representatives made progress on re-establishing the EJVM and approved the principle of a possible deployment of a peacekeeping force to Uvira.[xxxiii]