Initial actions In the night of 27 March 2022, M23 rebels launched a new offensive in
North Kivu, first attacking the villages of Tshanzu and Runyoni in the
Rutshuru Territory from their strongholds at the surrounding hills. Meanwhile, the M23 fighters temporarily retreated to their mountain bases, with their first attacks being regarded as a failure. One ex-M23 officer told the newspaper
taz that it was entirely unclear what the rebel offensive was trying to achieve, with him speculating that Makenga was possibly hoping for one last battle to die in his homeland. From 22 to 23 May, a battle raged at Kibumba, while the insurgents temporarily seized
Rumangabo before it was retaken by the FARDC. There, they surrendered to the local Ugandan security forces. In response, the Congolese government suspended "all agreements" with Rwanda. MONUSCO began to prepare its local troops to support the efforts of the Congolese security forces to retake the town, while FARDC troops launched a counterattack from Kabindi on 16 June, and later claimed that they had recaptured Bunagana. However, the city was still in rebel hands on the following day, with heavy fighting taking place to its west. M23 repelled the attack and advanced, capturing the town of Tshengerero and the villages of Bugusa, Kabindi and Rangira. By June 18, the frontline had stabilized along the Rutshuru-Bunagana axis. Combined FARDC-MONUSCO forces still held settlements in the direct vicinity of Tshengerero such as Ntamugenga and Rwanguba, including the latter's bridge over the Rutshuru river. Fighting shifted to the Runyoni-Rumangabo axis, where clashes were reported at the villages of Kavumu and Bikenge.
Rutshuru front , July 2022 |232x232px From 19 to 22 June, clashes continued as M23 attempted to break through FARDC defense positions. At first, the rebels assaulted villages along the southern axis, but were repelled at Karambi, Kitagoma and Kitovu, Bweza, and Busanza. They subsequently focused on Bikenge, Ruvumu, Shangi, and Bukima, overrunning the villages before the FARDC organized a counterattack, retaking most of these settlements.
Human Rights Watch reported that 17 civilians, including two children, had been
summarily executed by M23 on 21 June for suspected collaboration with the FARDC. According to the newspaper
Eco News, the FARDC reportedly inflicted a defeat on M23 at the Runyoni frontline around this time, wounding Sultani Makenga and killing another rebel commander, Colonel
Yusuf Mboneza. Pro-government forces, consisting of the military and police, counter-attacked, and retook the villages of Nkokwe, Ruvumu, Rugarama, Rutakara, Ntamugenga and Rutsiro. On 29 June, the FARDC continued its advance, capturing Kabindi and Chengerero, though M23 militants countered by attacking Rutsiro. On July 1, the FARDC claimed to had won a major victory over M23 and allied Rwandan troops after heavy fighting at Rutsiro, Ntamugenga and Nyabikona, completely evicting the insurgents from the Bweza
groupement in Rutshuru. Clashes continued at Bikenge and Ruseke on 4 July, as the FARDC repelled M23 assaults. On July 6 Rwandan President
Paul Kagame and Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi agreed to a ceasefire but M23 refused to adhere to it and attacked Kanyabusoro and Rwanguba the next day. Over the next days, clashes continued at various villages in the Bweza and Jomba groupements, as M23 attempted to retake territory while combat died down along other parts of the frontline. in
Goma, July 2022 By the end of July, M23 was installing its own officials in the occupied territories and began raising taxes. In response to M23's advances,
violent protests erupted in Goma and other eastern Congolese cities against MONUSCO, killing several people, including peacekeepers. On 27 July, fighting between M23 and FARDC resumed at Kabingo, Rutshuru, as the rebels attempted to harvest the crops planted by locals but were confronted by government forces. On 2 August, the rebels and FARDC fought at five villages in Rutshuru. A truce was later agreed, which was condemned by locals in the area for allowing M23 to keep its territory. On 15 August, the first contingent of East African Community peacekeepers arrived in
Kivu. This group, consisting of
Burundian soldiers, pledged to assist in the campaign against M23 and other insurgent factions. The M23 leadership claimed that these operations were in response to FARDC aggression, and declared that it wanted a "dialogue" with the government. On 19 August, M23 shelled FARDC positions at Jomba, Bweza and Busanza. On October 23, M23 captured the town of
Ntamugenga as they sought to take the strategic RN2 highway. Four civilians were killed and 40 more were injured in the fighting while more than 23,000 people fled their homes. The offensive continued along the RN2 highway, leading to M23 capturing the towns of Rubare, Kalengera, and Kako. On 29 October M23 rebels took control of the towns of
Rutshuru and
Kiwanja. Around this time, a Rwandan soldier fighting alongside M23 surrendered to MONUSCO forces. Riots broke out in Goma against Rwanda and MONUSCO again on October 31. Several MONUSCO vehicles were burned while the United Nations announced a "strategic and tactical withdrawal" from the
Rumangabo military base to protect its personnel, allowing M23 to occupy it. Kenya subsequently announced that it would send 900 soldiers to fight against M23. and soon after began to bomb the rebels with fighter jets. Rwanda protested that a
Congolese Air Force Sukhoi Su-25 had violated its airspace. M23 claimed to have captured the towns of Kibumba, Ruhunda, Buhumba, Kabuhanga, Tongo, and Mulimbi from the FDLR who they accused of working with the Congolese army. By late November, the FARDC had formed a coalition with several local militias, including the FLDR,
Mai-Mai groups, and some Nyatura factions. The victims included men, women and children. On 27 January M23 captured the town of Kitshanga, causing people to flee and take refuge in a nearby UN base. Kitshanga's capture cut off the road linking
Butembo, North Kivu's second largest city, to Goma. After two days of heavy fighting, M23 seized the village of Mushaki on 24 February, threatening supply routes to Goma. Three days later M23 briefly took the town of Rubaya and its
coltan mines, before being expelled by the FARDC. The next day, the town of Mweso also fell to the rebels. By March, the violence had resulted in 100,000 displaced civilians. On April 3, Ugandan EAC soldiers entered Bunagana. However, instead of replacing M23, the peacekeepers coexisted with the rebels. Such an arrangement was also observed at Rumangabo, where Kenyans and M23 inhabited the same base, and along the Sake-Mwesso axis, where Burundian and rebel forces operated next to each other. In addition, local sources suggested that M23 had begun to arm and train other militias. On 26 October, the M23 rebels launched an offensive on Bambo, seizing the town, while fighting closed in on Goma. On 4 February 2024, M23 seized the town of Shasha, adjacent settlements, and was in control of the road linking Goma to
Minova. The M23 rebels then began advancing on the town of
Sake, located at a strategic crossroad linking Goma to the west.
2025 Goma and Bukavu offensives Encirclement of Goma On January 4, M23 seized
Masisi, a town with a population of 40,000 and the administrative seat of
Masisi Territory.
Agence France-Presse said that M23 forces had previously captured the Katale area before entering Masisi. The same day, M23 forces began moving west to retake
Rubaya, a key area for the extraction of coltan, a mineral vital to global technology supply chains. The FARDC stopped the initial M23 assault on its newly established positions in Ngungu, in the Mupfuni-Shanga
groupement. FARDC then conducted airstrikes in Mbingi, a region it was expected to control but failed to maintain for more than a day due to M23 reinforcements. The following day, M23 fighters based in Mulimbi launched an assault on the Wazalendo stronghold within the Tongo
groupement of
Bwito Chiefdom. During an ambush by Wazalendo near Kiseguro, located in the Binza
groupement in Rutshuru Territory, five M23 fighters were killed. Heavy fighting lasted several hours after the ambush, particularly in the localities of Kiseguro and Ngwenda, where Wazalendo forces engaged in combat with M23 troops. On 20 January, M23 launched a series of bombings targeting hills overlooking Sake in the Kamuronza
groupement of Masisi Territory, which targeted FARDC and Wazalendo positions, primarily affected the locality of Kimoka near the Lushagala refugee camp. Despite the intensity of the attacks, M23 was repelled. Strategic vantage points such as Katale, Kachiazo, and the hills overlooking Minova were occupied.
Bweremana was taken by M23 following an artillery assault against FARDC forces. By 22 January, M23 had entrenched itself within Minova and Kalungu in the Buzi
groupement and expanded its dominion to Makelele and Butale in the Mbinga-Nord
groupement. On 23 January, intensified clashes erupted as M23 launched a pre-dawn offensive against FARDC and Wazalendo positions near Sake. Seven South African soldiers of the SADC were killed in the fighting. MONUSCO mobilized reinforcements to fortify defenses around Sake and Goma but remained absent in Minova due to mandate restrictions. Simultaneous attacks by M23 targeted Wazalendo and FARDC positions 20 kilometers north of Goma. By late January, fighting intensified around Sake as M23 launched several assaults to take it. Multiple MONUSCO peacekeepers were wounded defending the area around the town while Major General
Peter Cirimwami Nkuba, the military governor of North Kivu, was injured in the fighting and later died of his wounds. Hundreds of civilians became casualties amid the ensuing battle along with two
Malawian Defence Force peacekeepers killed defending to town. Sake was taken by M23 on January 23, rendering Goma encircled. As M23 advanced toward the city, six more United Nations peacekeepers and nine South African soldiers were killed trying to repulse them.
Battle of Goma As an M23 assault on Goma became imminent, the FARDC deployed tanks at strategic spots in the city to defend it. At
Goma International Airport, Romanian military instructors coordinated with FARDC forces and Wazalendo units to bolster security. M23 issued an ultimatum demanding the surrender of FARDC forces and imposed a 48-hour deadline, which led to some soldiers relinquishing their arms before the deadline expired. Some residents fled the city by using boats to cross Lake Kivu. while Rwandan forces attacked from Rwanda itself. Assisted by MONUSCO, Wazalendo militias, and mercenaries from
Romania, the Congolese army put up a stiff resistance fending off M23 in the northern neighborhoods in order to defend the routes leading to Goma's airport. Similar "unexpected resistance" was put up in the west. By the next day, M23 had broken through FARDC defenses in the city's Monigi district and began pushing toward the city center. With the city breached, FARDC defenses crumbled. M23 quickly captured strategic neighborhoods around the airport as Congolese soldiers began to flee to peacekeeping bases or into Rwanda where they surrendered. On January 27, M23 announced the city's capture but scattered resistance among Wazalendo militias continued in various neighborhoods while remaining FARDC soldiers and MONUSCO peacekeepers held out at the airport which M23 besieged. The next day, the airport was surrendered and M23 took 1,200 FARDC soldiers captive. MONUSCO forces promptly raised a
white flag and surrendered afterward. By January 30, fighting had stopped as M23 mopped up any remaining resistance in the city. The United Nations estimated that nearly 3,000 people were killed in the battle.
Push into South Kivu The city's fall sparked
large-scale riots in Kinshasa. Crowds gathered outside embassies demanding stronger international action and the immediate withdrawal of M23 from the Congo. Congolese President Tshisekedi called for a national mobilization, urging citizens to rally behind FARDC against what he called "Rwanda's barbaric aggression". With Goma captured, M23 turned its attention to South Kivu and its capital
Bukavu, launching an offensive into the province's Kalehe Territory and capturing the towns of Kiniezire and Mukwidja after intense skirmishes. The next day, M23 confronted FARDC troops in the village of Kalangala. Strategically positioned between Mukwidja and Nyabibwe, it was the gateway to the territory's administrative town of Kalehe. On January 31, FARDC launched a counterattack, retaking Mukwidja and adjacent localities but clashes persisted in other nearby areas, while FARDC confirmed that clashes had spread beyond Nyabibwe. On February 1, FARDC retook Nyabibwe and forced M23 to retreat toward Minova but its commanding officer Alexis Rugabisha was killed in action. Two days later, M23 announced a unilateral ceasefire On February 10, M23 launched artillery strikes on FARDC positions, while intense fighting in the area forced about 30,000 people to flee their homes. M23 captured Kalehe two days later and went on to consolidate control over much of Kalehe Territory. M23 forces then entered
Kabare Territory on February 13. On 14 February, M23 occupied all of Kalehe and made inroads into Kabare territories, forcing the Congolese army to withdraw toward the town of Kavumu where they made a stand at its
local airport. M23 then promptly marched on Bukavu on February 15. Unlike in Goma, M23 faced little resistance taking the city but its capture forced over 10,000 refugees into Burundi.
Secondary offensives and ceasefire Lubero front Concurrent with M23's offensives on Goma and Bukavu was a minor theater in
Lubero Territory, North Kivu, where they attempted to capture the province's second largest city of
Butembo. Goma's seizure freed up M23's forces to march north where on February 18, they engaged FARDC forces in an attempt to capture the territory's administrative town of
Lubero. M23 captured the town of Kipese on February 20 while flanking FARDC positions along the RN2 highway but was prevented from taking Lubero itself. Unable to break FARDC defenses, M23 moved west and captured the village of Kasugho, located southwest of Lubero, on March 2 while also taking various settlements along the shores of
Lake Edward by May 2. In response to M23's advances, Uganda intervened and sent its military into the Congo to secure areas of North Kivu still under government control and neighboring
Ituri Province. Taking up positions south of Lubero, the Ugandan military stopped M23 from progressing any further.
Uvira front After securing Bukavu, M23 swiftly marched south along the N5 highway toward the strategic city of
Uvira, located near the border with Burundi. FARDC, now suffering from crippling morale, hastily attempted to build new defensive lines but faced resistance from Wazalendo militias who were opposed to abandoning Bukavu. The resulting infighting left 17 people dead on February 19. Marching unopposed through the
Ruzizi Plain, M23 captured the towns of
Kamanyola and
Sange. Residents, fearing potential violence, fled into the mountains. By March 12, M23 had reached to within from Uvira but then withdrew back to Kamanyola after facing international pressure and showing support for a peace conference mediated by
Angola. As a
de facto ceasefire set in, M23 took
Idjwi Territory without a fight and now had a presence in seven out of eight of South Kivu's territories. In South Kivu's
Fizi Territory, two ethnic
Banyamulenge militias called
Twirwaneho and
RED-Tabara aligned themselves with M23 and began attacking Congolese positions, taking the village of
Minembwe and its airstrip and Mikenge on February 21. The Congolese military responded by launching an operation to retake them, saying drone strikes killed four Twirwaneho commanders. and
Mwenga territories. After heavy fighting, Congolese soldiers retook Mikenge on March 6 while it utilized airstrikes against Twirwaneho positions around Minembwe.
Walikale front On March 6, FARDC and Wazalendo militias attempted a surprise assault to retake Masisi from M23, which had been occupied since 2024. The attack failed and M23 responded by launching a counteroffensive west toward
Walikale, the administrative capital of
Walikale Territory in North Kivu. A mining hub rich in raw materials, it has been a contested area throughout the Kivu conflict. Moving from Masisi, M23 quickly marched west along the R529 highway. M23 captured the village of Kibati on March 13 and then
Kibua three days later after fighting off FARDC and Wazalendo assaults. Receiving reinforcements, FARDC counterattacked, pushing M23 back down the R529. Days of fighting for control of the town of Mpofi and surrounding villages ensued, ending in M23 victory. Retreating to Walikale, FARDC set up one last defensive position outside the town but were overwhelmed and dispersed. M23 captured Walikale on March 19, marking their furthest westward advance. M23 responded by agreeing to withdraw from Walikale, citing it as an effort to "promote conditions for peace initiatives and political dialogue".
Peace agreement On April 27 in
Washington, D.C., the DRC and Rwanda jointly ratified a declaration of principles aimed at establishing a lasting peace, pledging to mutually recognize each other's sovereignty, address security issues, and promote economic integration, the return of displaced people, support for MONUSCO, and drafting a peace agreement. The document was signed by Congolese Foreign Minister
Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister
Olivier Nduhungirehe, with
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in attendance. Rubio stressed the importance of these pledges for achieving peace and economic growth in the region, noting that sustainable peace would be conducive to increased foreign investment. Both parties agreed to submit a preliminary peace agreement by 2 May. Despite the peace deal, M23 continued to fight Wazalendo militias conducting guerilla attacks. On 29 April, SADC troops began withdrawing from Goma via the Grande Barrière following an M23 ultimatum demanding their exit from rebel-held areas. On 27 June, the DRC and Rwanda signed a
U.S.-mediated peace agreement in Washington, attended by Secretary of State
Marco Rubio. Foreign Ministers
Thérèse Wagner and
Olivier Nduhungirehe formalized the accord, concluding months of diplomatic negotiations aimed at reducing tensions and conflict in eastern DRC. However, the accord did not halt M23's military activities. On 28 June, rebel forces captured the center of
Kaniola following renewed clashes with Wazalendo. Even after signing the Doha Declaration of Principles, which underscored commitments to peaceful dialogue, recognition of Congolese sovereignty, and respect for international law, M23 persisted in carrying out its campaign. On 5 September, the UN accused the "Rwanda-backed rebels" of slaughtering children and other civilians in Congo. The front lines largely remained frozen from March to December 2025. M23 may have quadrupled its active troops since early 2025, with an estimate in October putting its force at 22,000 fighters, making it the largest DRC rebellion since the Second Congo War. Burundi, which sees the advance of Rwandan-backed rebels in South Kivu as an existential threat due to the region's proximity to its economic center
Bujumbura, deployed additional troops in May and started building up defenses in November. Burundi's foreign minister claimed that Rwanda sent "trucks full of soldiers" from 28 November to reinforce its 8,000 troops in South Kivu.
Renewed conflict Second Uvira offensive On December 1, M23 relaunched its offensive toward Uvira from its forward position at Kamanyola. M23 brought reinforcements from Bukavu and the Lake Kivu area and attacked again, breaking through FARDC defenses to take Luvungi on December 4. FARDC troops retreated south to
Luberizi as M23 advanced toward Uvira, which was made the temporary capital of South Kivu after the fall of Bukavu, and the province's last major settlement outside of rebel control. Regional authorities and the United Nations said at least 400 people were killed and 200,000 more were displaced in the fighting. M23 then continued south from Uvira, taking areas around the
Itombwe Mountains and clashing with Congolese militias on the plateaus overlooking Fizi Territory. Making their way down the western shore of
Lake Tanganyika, M23 took the town of Makobola, site of the infamous
1998–99 massacre, and surrounding villages. == Analysis ==