Congo War Security Review

Data Cutoff: March 28, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST

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Key Takeaway: French media reported that Qatar has been hosting peace talks involving M23 rebels in Doha since March 27. M23 announced new efforts to facilitate the withdrawal of international forces from M23-controlled eastern DRC and cooperate with UN humanitarian requests that include reopening the Goma airport. The DRC announced that it will increase pay for members in the DRC’s security services. The Rwandan foreign minister reiterated Rwanda’s long-standing security concerns in the eastern DRC during a United Nations Security Council meeting.

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

M23 clashed with pro-Congolese government Wazalendo militias in a village near Lubero town in northern North Kivu. Independent Congolese journalist Georges Kisando reported on social media that the rebel group clashed with Wazalendo fighters in Katambi—located 9 miles south of Lubero town along the RN2—on March 27.[1] Kisando said that M23 “reinforced their presence” near Katambi after a lull in fighting.[2] M23 has controlled Katambi and areas south of Lubero town along the RN2 since late February.[3]  

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

French media reported on March 28 that Qatar has been hosting peace talks involving M23 rebels since March 27.[4] The French magazine Jeune Afrique reported that an M23 delegation led by M23 “President” Bertrand Bisimwa and M23 intelligence chief John Imani Nzene had recently arrived in Doha, Qatar’s capital, on an unspecified date.[5] A source close to DRC President Félix Tshisekedi confirmed to French state media outlet Radio France Internationale that M23 representatives and a Congolese delegation involving top intelligence officials had arrived in Qatar.[6] Jeune Afrique said Qatar had “opened a channel of communication” with M23 and “sent discreet messages to slow down their advance [in the eastern DRC]” and “show good faith.”[7] Senior Congolese officials told Jeune Afrique that there is also a scheduled meeting between Congolese and Rwandan military and intelligence officials in Doha.[8] Both French outlets said they were unable to confirm if direct M23-DRC negotiations are planned or have occurred.[9]

M23 met with African officials to coordinate the withdrawal of regional African forces and humanitarian efforts. M23 military officials met with defense ministers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Goma to negotiate the withdrawal of the SADC troops from the region on March 28.[10] The bloc had terminated the mission’s mandate and ordered the withdrawal of the 1,300-strong force during a virtual heads of state summit on March 13.[11] The SADC defense chiefs committed to “leave behind all FARDC weapons and equipment in their possession” as SADC forces withdraw from the area.[12] The SADC defense chiefs also discussed humanitarian efforts with the rebel group and committed to assist M23 in repairing Goma’s airport—a key logistical hub for humanitarian operations in North Kivu and South Kivu.[13] French state media reported on March 28 that the airport’s runway remains in disrepair and that M23 has been conducting de-mining operations in the area.[14] M23 had previously said that it was seeking to reopen the airport but cancelled a UN monitoring team’s visit to M23-occupied areas in late March that was expected to assess the operability of Goma airport.[15]

The DRC announced that it will increase pay for members in the DRC’s security services. The DRC finance minister released a communiqué on March 27 that said the DRC government will double the salaries of FARDC soldiers and police officers beginning on March 28.[16] Tshisekedi and the DRC’s national legislative body had said on several occasions since late February that the DRC government would increase already-existing pay bonuses and public benefits to soldiers on the front lines in the eastern DRC.[17] A FARDC officer in North Kivu told Reuters on March 27 that the DRC government has withheld compensation from FARDC soldiers since M23 captured Goma in late January, throwing the city’s financial system into limbo.[18] The DRC finance minister said that the move “marks a turning point towards better conditions” for FARDC soldiers.[19] Independent Congolese journalist Byobe Malenga said on social media on March 28 that some FARDC soldiers had already received an increase in pay in March, and a Congolese news outlet claimed on social media that only FARDC soldiers engaged on the front lines with M23 have reported a bump in pay.[20] CTP previously assessed that increased pay for FARDC soldiers in the eastern DRC is likely an effort to strengthen morale and decrease FARDC defections to M23.[21]

Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe reiterated Rwanda’s long-standing security concerns in the eastern DRC during a United Nations Security Council meeting on March 27. Nduhungirehe blamed the DRC government for instability in the eastern DRC and accused the DRC and UN forces of continuing to provide military support to Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR)—a militia group in the DRC that is linked with the Rwandan genocide that the Rwandan government has labeled as a national security threat.[22] The UN reported in December 2024 that FDLR fighters are embedded into pro-Congolese government militia units and that the DRC government “continued to systematically rely on and cooperate with [pro-Congolese government militias] and FDLR.”[23] Nduhungirehe said that Rwanda will keep “defense measures” in place in the eastern DRC until Rwanda sees proof of a “credible framework for long-term security guarantees along our border with the DRC.”[24] The UN reported in December 2024 that Rwanda has deployed at least 4,000 soldiers to the eastern DRC, while Reuters has reported that Rwandan troop numbers may have surged to 12,000 personnel amid the latest M23 offensive in 2025.[25] The Congolese representative to the UN decried Rwanda’s claims as “justification for an armed invasion” of the DRC and claimed that Rwanda had deployed “more than half” of its army to the eastern DRC.[26]