Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: April 23, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here. To receive the Africa File via email, please subscribe here.

Key Takeaway: Congolese media reported that M23 has been amassing troops and military equipment on the RP529 road in Walikale district in recent days. M23 launched an offensive to recapture the Kaziba chiefdom, south of Bukavu, in South Kivu. Local militia groups allegedly affiliated with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s ruling coalition attacked the headquarters of former DRC President Joseph Kabila’s political party in Kinshasa, the DRC capital.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23 launched an offensive to recapture the Kaziba chiefdom, south of Bukavu, in South Kivu. An independent Congolese journalist reported on social media on April 23 that M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters and Burundian troops “on the front lines” in the highlands of a remote area in between Kaziba town and the RN5 road.[1] M23 had attacked Wazalendo fighters in the highlands near Kamanyola—roughly 32 miles east from Kaziba town—on April 17 and cleared Wazalendo fighters from several villages south of Nyangezi—about 19 miles north of Kaziba town—on April 22 after deploying reinforcements to Nyangezi and several rural villages south of Bukavu in mid-April.[2] Wazalendo fighters and the local population in Kaziba town reportedly fled in two directions—east toward Luvungi, about 6 miles south of Kamanyola, on the RN5, and about 15 miles west of Kaziba toward two villages near the RN2 road in Walungu district.[3] The journalist said on social media that M23 reportedly aims to recapture Kaziba town but that Burundian troops had not fled and were still clashing with M23.[4] Burundian troops and Wazalendo fighters retook Kaziba chiefdom from M23 in mid-March after M23 reportedly faced supply shortages, and M23 fighters left the area to advance southward through a forested path toward Minembwe town in southern South Kivu.[5]

M23-aligned Twirwaneho rebels clashed with Wazalendo fighters in several villages in Fizi district in southern South Kivu. The Congolese news outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that Twirwaneho rebels clashed with Wazalendos in the Mutambala sector in Fizi district on April 23.[6] The Mutambala sector roughly encompasses the area between Baraka and the intersection of the RP527 and RN5 roads near Fizi town.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

Congolese media reported that M23 has been amassing troops and military equipment on the RP529 road in Walikale district in recent days. The Congolese news outlet Radio Okapi reported on April 23 that M23 has “intensified the deployment of its men and weapons” in a village near Kibati on the RP529 “for several days” for a potential offensive.[7] The Congolese news outlet Ouragan cited local sources on April 23 who witnessed a “massive reinforcement” of M23 forces and military equipment near Kasopo, which is about 12 miles east of Kibati.[8] Pro-Congolese government forces had repelled an M23 advance on the RP529 road and pushed the rebels back at least one mile to Kibati on April 22.[9]

M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in two villages in a remote area in southern Masisi district. The Congolese news outlet Kivu Morning Post reported that M23 attacked Wazalendo positions in Kishebere and Katuunda on April 23.[10] Katuunda is roughly 24 miles south of the mining town of Rubaya in Masisi district. CTP is unable to verify the location of Kishebere. Kivu Morning Post said that clashes between M23 and Wazalendo have occurred in this area for over two weeks and that M23 had captured an unspecified number of villages.[11]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Local militia groups allegedly affiliated with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi’s ruling coalition attacked the headquarters of former DRC President Joseph Kabila’s political party in Kinshasa, the DRC capital.[12] The Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie (PPRD) claimed on social media on April 23 that militias linked to Tshisekedi’s coalition looted the PPRD’s headquarters and attacked and abducted an unspecified number of PPRD officials.[13] The PPRD characterized the attack on social media as a “planned political repression operation.”[14]

President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, met with the Qatari foreign minister on April 22. The US State Department said on social media on April 22 that the meeting focused on “strategies for peace, security, and investment cooperation in the mining sector.”[15] Qatar has been mediating separate peace talks between the DRC and Rwanda and the DRC and M23 since March.[16]