Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: March 25, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: Member states from the East African Community (EAC) and South African Development Community (SADC) held a virtual joint summit to discuss the security situation in the eastern DRC and appoint new facilitators to restart dialogue between the DRC, Rwanda, and Rwandan-backed M23. Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye claimed that Rwandan President Paul Kagame “has a plan to attack Burundi” based on “credible intelligence” reports in an interview with the BBC. M23 clashed with the Congolese army and allied militias in villages near Walikale town in western North Kivu after a short-term ceasefire agreement with the Congolese army (FARDC) collapsed.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie

M23 repelled pro-Congolese government Wazalendo militia attacks on several villages north of the South Kivu provincial capital of Bukavu. Wazalendo militia fighters attacked M23 forces in several villages, including Katana, Kabamba, and Kavumu—located about 25 miles north of South Kivu’s provincial capital of Bukavu—in the Kabare district of northern South Kivu on March 25.[1] The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 expelled the Wazalendo fighters from Katana and Kabamba after several hours of fighting.[2] M23 captured Katana and Kavumu in mid-February as the rebel group advanced south along the RN2 toward Bukavu.[3]

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 clashed with the Congolese army (FARDC) and allied militias in villages near Walikale town in western North Kivu after a short-term ceasefire agreement collapsed on March 24.[4] Congolese media reported that M23 advanced to Kirundu—six miles west of Walikale town along the RN3—and clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo militias.[5] Wazalendo fighters attacked M23 positions on M23’s flank in Shabunda and Mutakato—located about 18 and 14 miles north of Walikale town along the RP529, respectively.[6] M23 captured both villages on March 19 as it advanced toward Walikale town.[7]

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu

M23 attacked FARDC and allied militia positions in a village near the Mwenga district capital in central South Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Media Congo reported that M23 attacked FARDC and Wazalendo positions in Kilungutwe—located 25 miles north along the RN2 from Mwenga town—on March 24.[8] M23 advanced through Kilungutwe in early March on their way to Mwenga town, but pro-Congolese government forces repelled an M23 assault on Mwenga town on March 11 and inflicted “heavy losses.”[9]

Major Political Developments

Member states from the East African Community (EAC) and South African Development Community (SADC) convened virtually for a joint heads of state summit to discuss the security situation in eastern DRC on March 24.[10] The summit was a follow-up to several EAC-SADC joint meetings since early February.[11] The bloc formally adopted plans to implement a ceasefire in the eastern DRC, secure M23-held areas, and strengthen multilateral forces’ and FARDC’s fighting capacity.[12]

The EAC-SADC heads of state reshuffled the team of facilitators tasked with merging regional peace processes and restarting dialogue between the DRC, Rwanda, and Rwandan-backed M23. The bloc appointed former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, former Central African President Catherine Samba-Panza, and former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde to join former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria on the facilitation team.[13] Zewde replaced another former Ethiopian leader, Hailemariam Desalegn.[14] The post-summit EAC-SADC communiqué said that the bloc made the changes to facilitate “gender, regional and language inclusivity.”[15] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported in mid-March that the DRC took issue with the original set of facilitators described as a “trio of English-speaking men.”[16] The facilitation team will appoint a mediator that will replace Angolan President João Lourenço, who stepped down in March to focus on his role as African Union (AU) chairperson after peace negotiations between the DRC and Rwanda and Rwandan-backed M23 collapsed.[17] The joint communiqué said that Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Kenyan President William Ruto will brief the facilitators within the next week to enable the team to restart dialogue.[18]

Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye claimed that Rwandan President Paul Kagame “has a plan to attack Burundi” based on “credible intelligence” reports in an interview with the BBC on March 25.[19] Ndayishimiye has repeatedly accused Rwanda of “planning something against Burundi” since M23 captured Goma, the North Kivu provincial capital, in late January.[20] The Burundian president reiterated to the BBC that Rwanda’s links to RED Tabara—a Burundian Tutsi rebel group—and Rwanda’s suspected involvement in a 2015 coup attempt continue to strain the two countries’ relations.[21]