CW Note

Photo Source: AP Photo
   NIAS Course on Global Politics
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS)
Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore
For any further information or to subscribe to GP alerts send an email to subachandran@nias.res.in

CWA # 1809
CW Note
DR Congo: M23 reorganising for a renewed offensive; no sign of peace

  Anu Maria Joseph
18 September 2025

In the news
On 18 September, Reuters and Africanews reported that the Congolese army and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are remobilising troops and reinforcing their military positions in North and South Kivu provinces. The new development came after the warring sides accused each other of violating the terms of the US and Qatari-led peace and ceasefire accords. 

On 14 September, M23 rebels paraded over 7,000 recruits in Goma. The group said that the new recruits included surrendered Congolese soldiers. 

On the same day, Amnesty International representative, Christian Rumu, stated: "We are still concerned about forced recruitment that we have documented since the takeover of the M23 in North Kivu and South Kivu. This might affect the peaceful process that both the DRC, Rwanda, and M23 are trying to reach through the Doha and Washington processes."

Issues at large
First, M23's motivations to continue violence. M23, a Tutsi-led and Rwanda-backed rebel group, seized and has been in control of Goma and Bukavu, the regional capitals of North and South Kivu, since January 2025. The group currently has nearly 14,000 troops across eastern DRC, according to the UN. M23 has security and economic motivations in the region. The security objective is to protect the minority ethnic Tutsis, whether it's in Rwanda, DRC or Uganda, and fight against their historical rivals—the Hutu-led Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) armed group in DRC. The group has been forcefully recruiting from the captured regions. The economic objective is to control the eastern DRC's vast mineral towns, illicit mineral trade and network. With an advantage in achieving both objectives, the group seem to have no interest in adhering to any peace efforts.

Second, the Doha and Washington peace accords and their limitations. Over the past two months, the US and Qatar have mediated two important deals between the warring parties: a US-led peace deal between Rwanda and DRC and a Qatari-led direct ceasefire deal between DRC and M23. The US-led peace deal conveyed an impression of a return to peace in the DRC. However, the deal rarely discussed a resolution; rather brought a political settlement between Rwanda and DRC, ignoring the underlying issues behind the conflict. Moreover, the deal was criticised for being transactional after the US linked its economic interests. The Qatari-led ceasefire was supposed to set the stage for comprehensive peace talks between the DRC and M23 rebels. According to the deal, M23 agreed to withdraw from the regions it seized, and the DRC agreed to release M23 prisoners. However, the violence resumed immediately after DRC and M23 failed to adhere to the terms of the agreement. 

Third, mistrust between DRC and Rwanda. The US-led peace deal was built on a fragile trust between the DRC and Rwanda. The conflict in eastern DRC involves a decades-long hostilities between Rwanda and DRC over historical grievances and rivalries, ethnic issues, the Rwandan genocide, two Congo wars, and territorial disputes. For DRC, more than resolving the conflict, the deal meant the entry of the US and an end to the illicit mineral trade in the region. For Rwanda, M23 has been a major source of accessing mineral reserves in eastern DRC. Still, Kigali caved into the international pressure to sign the deal, calculatedly that it can always adopt a strategy of denying its support to M23, thereby protecting its strategic ambiguity.

In perspective
The remobilisation and recruitment imply that the region shall anticipate another wave of violence soon. Many fear that M23 is aiming for Kinshasa and the fall of the government. Immediate developments following the peace deal and the ceasefire deal imply that neither side had the intention to comply with any commitments of the deals. There is no sign of peace. Once again, a rushed and exclusive peace deal and ceasefire have failed, and added to the list of failed peace efforts in eastern DRC. While underlying issues remain ignored, peace efforts turn transactional, and commitment and compliance remain elusive, a sustainable peace in eastern DRC appears to be challenging.

About the author
Anu Maria Joseph is a Project Associate at NIAS.

Print Bookmark

PREVIOUS COMMENTS

This Week in History
August 2025 | CWA # 1801

R Preetha

28 August 1963
TWTW note
August 2025 | CWA # 1780

Abhiruchi Chowdhury

Trump tariffs:
This Week in History
August 2025 | CWA # 1778

Lekshmi MK

28 July 1914
TWTW Note
June 2025 | CWA # 1694

Aashish Ganeshan

The US:
CW Note
May 2025 | CWA # 1689

Padmashree Anandhan

Ukraine
CW Note
May 2025 | CWA # 1688

Ayan Datta

Gaza
CW Note
May 2025 | CWA # 1675

Lekshmi MK

Turkey:
CW Note
May 2025 | CWA # 1673

Padmashree Anandhan

Ukraine:
TWTW Note
May 2025 | CWA # 1667

R Preetha and Brighty Ann Sarah

East Asia:
NIAS Global Politics Database
March 2024 | CWA # 1251

NIAS Africa Team

Africa This Week
NIAS Global Politics Database
February 2024 | CWA # 1226

NIAS Africa Team

Africa This Week
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1189

Hoimi Mukherjee | Hoimi Mukherjee is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science in Bankura Zilla Saradamani Mahila Mahavidyapith.

Chile in 2023: Crises of Constitutionality
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1187

Aprajita Kashyap | Aprajita Kashyap is a faculty of Latin American Studies, School of International Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi.

Haiti in 2023: The Humanitarian Crisis
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1185

Binod Khanal | Binod Khanal is a Doctoral candidate at the Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi.

The Baltic: Energy, Russia, NATO and China
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1183

Padmashree Anandhan | Padmashree Anandhan is a Research Associate at the School of Conflict and Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangaluru.

Germany in 2023: Defence, Economy and Energy Triangle
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1178

​​​​​​​Ashok Alex Luke | Ashok Alex Luke is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at CMS College, Kottayam.

China and South Asia in 2023: Advantage Beijing?
The World This Year
December 2023 | CWA # 1177

Annem Naga Bindhu Madhuri | Annem Naga Bindhu Madhuri is a postgraduate student at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at the University of Madras, Chennai.

China and East Asia
The War in Ukraine
October 2023 | CWA # 1091

Annem Naga Bindhu Madhuri

Issues for Europe
IPRI Quarterly Forecasts I Triggers, Trends, and Trajectories
July 2023 | CWA # 1012

Bibhu Prasad Routray

Myanmar continues to burn
2022: The World This Year
December 2022 | CWA # 879

Padmashree Anandhan

The Ukraine War
Europe: Heatwaves, Wildfires, Droughts, and Ice Melt in Alps
November 2022 | CWA # 838

Rishma Banerjee

Tracing Europe's droughts
NIAS Africa Weekly
March 2022 | CWA # 705

NIAS Africa Team

In Focus: Libya
The World This Week: 150th Issue
December 2021 | CWA # 630

GP Team

Europe in 2021
Pakistan Reader
October 2021 | CWA # 588

Abigail Miriam Fernandez

TLP is back again
NIAS Fortnightly on Science, Technology & International Relations
August 2021 | CWA # 528

STIR Team

Space Tourism
Science, Technology and International Relations
September 2019 | CWA # 162

Lakshman Chakravarthy N

5G: A Primer
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 71

Mahesh Bhatta | Centre for South Asian Studies, Kathmandu

Nepal
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 70

Nasima Khatoon | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

The Maldives
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 69

Harini Madhusudan | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

India
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 68

Sourina Bej | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

Bangladesh
South Asia Monthly Brief (Nov 2018)
December 2018 | CWA # 67

Seetha Lakshmi Dinesh Iyer | Research Associate, ISSSP, NIAS

Afghanistan