(Reuters) -Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo are seeking to advance south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, in an attempt to expand their area of control in the country’s east after capturing the city of Goma.
The latest fighting is part of a major escalation of a decades-old conflict over power, identity, and resources that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 1 million since its recent resurgence.
WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?
The rebels entered Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on Monday night and had seized control of the city’s airport by Tuesday evening, after facing pockets of resistance in strategic areas. Hundreds of government troops and allied militia laid down their weapons.
By Wednesday morning, the rebels were in control of the devastated city, where corpses still lay in the streets. The insurgents are intent on showing they can restore order there and govern.
Since then, M23 fighters have pushed southwards into South Kivu, battling the Congolese army and its allies including Burundian troops, sources said. The United Nations on Thursday also cited reports of Rwandan troops crossing the border into South Kivu.
The involvement of Burundian and Rwandan troops on the ground has added to fears the fighting could spiral into a regional conflict akin to two devastating wars in the region between 1996 and 2003 that cost millions of lives.
WHO ARE M23?
M23, which refers to the March 23, 2009, accord that ended a previous Tutsi-led revolt in eastern Congo, is the latest group of ethnic Tutsi-led insurgents to take up arms against Congolese forces. It launched the current rebellion in 2022.
The group has accused the government of Congo of not living up to the peace deal and fully integrating Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.
It also vows to defend Tutsi interests, particularly against ethnic Hutu militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR was founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda after participating in the 1994 genocide of close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Advances into new territory by M23 rebels since the start of the year have prompted hundreds of thousands more people to flee their homes.
For more than a year, M23 has controlled Congo’s coltan-mining region of Rubaya, generating an estimated $800,000 per month through a production tax, according to the U.N. Coltan is used in the production of smartphones and other equipment.
The group’s spread into new territories in recent weeks gives it scope to acquire more mining revenue, analysts say.
WHY IS RWANDA INVOLVED?
The government of Congo, U.N. officials and Western powers including the United States have accused Congo’s neighbour Rwanda of fuelling the conflict by deploying thousands of its own troops and heavy weapons on Congolese soil in support of M23.
The accusations are based on a 2022 report by a U.N. Group of Experts that said it had “solid evidence” that Rwandan troops had been fighting alongside the M23 rebels.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s government, which denies backing the rebels, says it has taken what it calls defensive measures and accuses Congo of fighting alongside the FDLR, which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.
Rwanda has a long history of military intervention inside Congo. It and Uganda invaded in 1996 and 1998, claiming they were defending themselves against local militia groups and going after the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
WHAT ARE U.N. PEACEKEEPERS AND OTHER FORCES DOING?
U.N. peacekeepers in North Kivu have been supporting the Congolese army’s efforts to curb the M23 as part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (MONUSCO) years-old mandate to counter the many rebel groups active in eastern Congo.
An agreed withdrawal of the mission from Congo was paused last year because of the deteriorating security situation. As of December, there were nearly 11,000 peacekeepers on the ground, mostly in the east.
Since the fall of Goma, the mission has evacuated some of its staff and families. Its base has received a large number of people seeking refuge, including government and army officials and various elements including the pro-government Wazalendo militia fighters who have surrendered their arms.
Private military contractors who were hired by the Congolese government to help in the fight against M23 and to train troops have also surrendered.
Burundian troops have been helping Congo fight the M23. Burundi’s government has sent thousands of soldiers, who are now concentrated in South Kivu. They are among the forces currently defending Kavumu airport, north of Bukavu.
The 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC), which extended its military mission in Congo late last year to help the Congolese army fight the rebels, remains in place.
Both forces have suffered losses since the start of 2025.
(Writing by Bate Felix and Alessandra PrenticeEditing by Timothy Heritage and Frances Kerry)
