This development increased Goma's reliance on trade with Rwanda. M23 forces then advanced along three fronts: southward toward Goma, halting approximately 20 kilometers from the city; northward toward the Ishasha border post; and westward through Virunga National Park, toward Tongo groupement of Bwito Chiefdom. [96]

3 days ago · Rwanda has acknowledged that its troops are in Congo but denied controlling M23. “This conflict has two sides,” said Fred Bauma, the executive director of Ebuteli , a Congolese research institute.

Feb 25, 2025 · Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi has ruled out peace talks with M23 rebels even as they acquire more territory, accusing them of being a proxy army for Rwanda in a plot to illegally exploit his country’s natural wealth.. Rwandan authorities described the U.K. measures as punitive and regrettable. “It is unreasonable to expect Rwanda to compromise its national security and the safety ...

6 days ago · Rwanda has long denied the accusations that it was supporting M23 (see below Involvement of Rwanda and other countries in M23’s insurgencies). M23 continued much of the same modus operandi it had embraced in 2012–13 when it came to the territory under its control. It generated income from taxing businesses and civilians, collecting fees at ...

Feb 18, 2025 · M23 is being supported with troops and weapons from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.S. and U.N. experts. Rwanda’s longtime President Paul Kagame accuses Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi of overlooking the concerns of Congo’s ethnic Tutsis and ignoring previous peace agreements.

Feb 21, 2025 · “There is no military solution to the conflict in the east of the DRC,” he said. “The offensive carried out by the M23 supported by Rwanda must be put to an end.” The situation in the mineral-rich region has deteriorated since January as M23 fighters advance across North and South Kivu provinces, with the crisis spreading to Ituri.

Jan 28, 2025 · M23 is the most prominent of dozens of militias roaming the mineral-rich areas of eastern Congo. It has about 8,000 fighters, according to the United Nations, and a powerful backer in Rwanda.

The M23 campaign is an ongoing series of military offensives launched by the March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since March 2022.In November 2021, the M23 first launched attacks against the Congolese military (FARDC) and MONUSCO, seizing military positions in Ndiza, Cyanzu, and Runyoni in North Kivu Province. [50]

Feb 19, 2025 · The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. The region is rich in gold and coltan, a key mineral used in consumer electronics like laptops and smartphones.

Nov 23, 2022 · Formed 10 years ago, the Rwanda-backed Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) soon made its first mark when it briefly occupied Goma, a city of 1 million today. An African-led effort resulted in...