M23 is a Congolese militia backed by Rwanda's army. It first took Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in 2012, but withdrew after 11 days under Western pressure on Paul Kagame. In early 2025, with the help of Rwandan troops, it seized Goma and Bukavu again—this time staying put.
In Goma M23 set up an ersatz version of Kagame's rule in Rwanda, ordering the streets to be cleaned at the point of a gun. But it faces problems running the city, where cash is in short supply. Its leaders say they will run Goma like the RPF runs Kigali, but they have neither the skill nor the legitimacy among the population. On June 3rd 2025 Human Rights Watch said M23 had systematically killed civilians in Goma.
The Congo River Alliance, a political coalition led by M23, says it wants regime change in Kinshasa, Congo's capital. Some in Rwanda's RPF hope the political cascade caused by M23 in Congo will help its allies, and that at minimum the Kivus will gain more devolution as part of a federal Congo.
M23 has controlled the Rubaya mines since 2024. The mines hold 15% of the world's coltan, a mineral used in phones. In early February 2026 at least 200 people, including children, died in a mine collapse there. Congo's government blamed the rebels, accusing them of looting the mines on Rwanda's behalf.
In eastern Congo, M23 fighters have used jammers to blunt drones fielded by UN peacekeepers and reportedly shot down a Chinese medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone used by the Congolese army.
M23 withdrew from Walikale, the site of an American tin mine, ahead of a visit by Massad Boulos, Trump's Africa adviser, in April 2025. Human-rights groups have accused M23 of atrocities in Goma including torture and gang rape.
A peace deal between Congo and Rwanda signed in Washington in June 2025 was vague on M23's future; its spokesman said the rebels were "going nowhere". Subsequent talks, including a set brokered by Qatar, have proved thorny. Uganda reopened a border crossing into M23-held North Kivu in July 2025.
In December 2025 M23 seized Uvira, a city on the Burundi border, cutting the Congolese army's resupply link through Bujumbura and cementing Rwandan control over eastern Congo. More than 200,000 people fled. M23 withdrew from Uvira in January 2026, probably under American pressure, perhaps backed by mercenaries linked to Erik Prince.
M23 controls swathes of South and North Kivu, an area the size of Greece or Mississippi that is home to 15m people. The group has replaced hundreds of civil servants since late 2021 and seized around 45 mining assets, according to a report by the Congo Research Group at New York University. It may now field 38,000 fighters. Its political arm is led by Corneille Nangaa; Freddy Kaniki is his deputy. The militia is courting the Trump administration directly with a pitch deck offering five M23-controlled mining assets, arguing it offers "a more deliverable pathway" to American mineral-supply goals than Congo can.
In Goma, M23 imposes weekly salongo, a forced city-beautification exercise modelled on Rwanda's, has issued near-identical uniforms to a new police force, and is trying to build a parallel financial system—including a Kivus "central bank" and lenders such as "IMF Kivu". Banks remain closed and the airport shut, gutting trade. M23's leaders, though not Kaniki, are under American sanctions.
In February 2026 Willy Ngoma, M23's military spokesman, was killed in a drone strike near the mining town of Rubaya in North Kivu. After his death, M23's allies in South Kivu intensified their offensive. The largest Banyamulenge militia, with its stronghold in the South Kivu highlands, officially joined forces with M23 just over a year ago. Most pro-government fighters say their war is now against the Banyamulenge. Half a million civilians in Fizi territory have been displaced since December 2025. There are fears M23 could march 260km south towards Kalemie, which would give the group control of the city's airport and bring the conflict close to Congo's copper belt.
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