Congo War Security Review

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: Representatives from the DRC and M23 indefinitely postponed Qatar-mediated peace talks planned for April 9. Former DRC President Joseph Kabila announced he would return to the DRC in a letter to French magazine Jeune Afrique on April 8. M23 implemented measures to consolidate political control over several areas in Masisi district in southern North Kivu.

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

Nothing significant to report.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

Nothing significant to report.

Major Political Developments

Representatives from the DRC and M23 indefinitely postponed Qatar-mediated peace talks planned for April 9. Reuters reported on April 9 that all sides indefinitely postponed the direct talks for an “unclear” reason and that Qatar had yet to even send official invitations.[1] Preliminary talks between Qatar, the DRC, and M23 took place the prior week to “lay the groundwork” before negotiating over key issues.[2] Several Congolese journalists reported on social media on April 9 that M23 issued a series of preconditions for the talks to go forward—including amnesty for senior M23 figures, a statement by DRC President Félix Tshisekedi that publicly endorses direct dialogue, the repeal of DRC legislation that legalized an alliance between the Congolese army (FARDC) and pro-Congolese government militias in late 2022, and a guarantee that the DRC delegation in Doha will have decision-making power before entering into more substantive talks.[3] The DRC reportedly demanded that M23 relinquish political control and withdraw from occupied areas—including Goma and Bukavu—and disarm and demobilize as preconditions.[4]

Former DRC President Joseph Kabila announced that he would return to the DRC in a letter to French magazine Jeune Afrique on April 8. Kabila wrote that he made the decision to “contribute to the search for a solution” to the security crisis in the eastern DRC after consulting with “several heads of state, former presidents, and national and foreign political and social figures.”[5] Kabila’s announcement came after his political party—the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie (PPRD)—officially relaunched its political activities on April 7.[6] Kabila has remained outside of the DRC since 2023 and kept a low-profile until he resurfaced in late February and began remobilizing his political network.[7] Tshisekedi and other senior officials have publicly accused Kabila of “preparing an insurrection” and being “the real sponsor” behind M23 on numerous occasions since Kabila’s reemergence in February.[8] The Congolese army detained and questioned at least ten PPRD officials close to Kabila in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, in early March on suspicions of “preparing a coup” against Tshisekedi.[9] Reuters cited two Congolese officials in early March who claimed that the DRC seized a boat owned by Kabila on Lake Tanganyika “on suspicion it would be used to transport weapons to groups that would side with M23.”[10] Kabila said in his letter to Jeune Afrique on April 8 that he would return to the DRC “via the eastern part.”[11] The chief of staff to Moïse Katumbi—a Congolese opposition politician and ally of Kabila—said on social media on April 8 that Kabila will reenter the country through M23-held Goma in North Kivu.[12]

M23 implemented measures to consolidate political control over several areas in Masisi district in southern North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported on April 9 that M23 has been replacing local leaders with M23 loyalists in several villages in Masisi district “for several days now.”[13] The outlet cited residents in Masisi district who said that several villages—including Rubaya, Kitshanga, Kalembe, and the Masisi district capital—had been “transformed with new authorities.”[14] Radio Okapi reported separately on April 9 that M23 has punished, arrested, and fined residents who refuse to do “community work” in several villages in Masisi district.[15] The outlet also reported that displaced persons living in camps near Goma began returning to their villages in Masisi district due to a lull in fighting between FARDC and M23.[16]