RBC-Ukraine reports on the situation at the border between the DRC and Rwanda. This information is provided by Kontrakty.UA.
What is happening in eastern DRC and what is Rwanda’s role?
Over the weekend, rebels from the M23 group, backed by the Rwandan army, invaded the suburbs of Goma, sparking mass panic and an exodus of residents. Intense fighting in the vicinity of the provincial capital of North Kivu, home to about one million people, has resumed in recent weeks. The "March 23 Movement" (or M23 group) launched its offensive following the failure of mediation efforts led by Angola.
Today, the rebels have entered the city center. According to Reuters, it is unclear whether they have control over the entire city. Locals and officials report that the DRC government army and UN peacekeepers are still at the airport.
"There is chaos in the city. Near the airport, we see soldiers, but I have not yet seen M23. There are also cases of looting in stores," one eyewitness reported.
In the airport area, in the center of Goma, and closer to the border with Rwanda, sporadic gunfire can be heard. Unverified videos have surfaced on social media showing locals ransacking a customs warehouse, while columns of heavily armed M23 militants are reportedly moving through the northern suburbs. In Goma itself, no command remains except for the police and soldiers.
Prior to this, in January, rebels took control of Minova, a key city on one of Goma's main supply routes, and Sake, which was a major defensive position for the DRC army. On Friday, they shot the military governor of North Kivu, and on Saturday, they gave the government forces in Goma 48 hours to surrender.
At yesterday’s Security Council meeting, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission, Bintu Keita, stated that the militants are advancing amid the continuous movement of civilians, who are being used as human shields. "The roads are blocked, M23 has declared the airspace closed, we are trapped," she noted.
The Rwandan ambassador to the UN claimed that the current escalation could have been prevented if the DRC government had "demonstrated a genuine commitment to peace." He called for finding ways to return to diplomatic processes involving other African countries. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the M23 offensive "with the support of Rwandan defense forces" and demanded that the rebels immediately cease hostilities and withdraw their troops.
As of today, over a hundred Congolese soldiers have surrendered their weapons to Uruguayan peacekeeping forces by 3:00 AM. In the morning, mission staff and their families evacuated to Rwanda, where 10 buses were waiting for them.
M23 leader Cornel Nangu announced the capture of Goma just minutes before the ultimatum expired. The government has yet to confirm the loss of the city. Today, the UN Security Council will hold another emergency meeting. It is also reported that 13 peacekeepers from South Africa and Uruguay have died in clashes with the rebels.
Right now, there are ongoing exchanges of fire between the DRC and Rwandan forces across the shared border near Goma.
Who are the M23 rebels and a brief history of the conflict
The eastern border regions of the DRC remain a hotspot of tension following two consecutive regional wars that resulted from the genocide of the Tutsi people in Rwanda.
"March 23 Movement" is one of approximately a hundred armed groups fighting for control over North Kivu. It is primarily composed of Tutsi representatives and claims to act to protect this ethnic group.
The movement first formed near the Rwandan border in 2012. Its core consisted of about 300 Tutsi soldiers who defected from the DRC government army. The rebels justified their struggle by stating that the Congolese authorities failed to fulfill the March 23, 2009 agreement and oppressed those who spoke Kinyarwanda, the official language of Rwanda.
M23 leaders claimed they sought to protect Congolese Tutsis from Hutu armed groups, particularly those composed of factions responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide who then fled to neighboring countries. However, there is an opinion that M23 is also a satellite of the DRC's neighbors, created to seize resource-rich territories. According to a UN report from 2012, Rwanda and Uganda supplied the rebels and even sent their armies to assist in capturing cities.
In the fall of 2012, the M23 movement took control of Goma for 10 days. However, it suffered a series of defeats from the government army, UN peacekeepers, and the UN Intervention Brigade composed of soldiers from Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Within a year, around 1500 rebels surrendered to Ugandan authorities, and since then the group has been largely inactive for 8 years.
In June 2021, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi granted a Rwandan company the right to clean gold mined in his country. This deal sparked irritation from Ugandan authorities, and their soldiers, with Tshisekedi's permission, entered North Kivu under the pretext of pursuing Islamist forces of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). They were also allowed to ensure the security of roads in the eastern part of the country, which further angered Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who, incidentally, is a representative of the Tutsi people.
This period also marked the resurgence of M23. In November 2021, rebels occupied two settlements in North Kivu, and by March 2022, they had taken control of most of the Rutshuru territory on the border with Uganda and Rwanda. The rivalry between these countries for control of resources was considered a key driver of the crisis. The DRC holds the world's largest reserves of cobalt, germanium, and tantalum, as well as significant deposits of coal, iron, copper, zinc, lithium, gold, diamonds, and oil.
In February 2022, Kagame delivered a furious 50-minute speech, citing threats to national security. He pointed to potential links between Islamists and remnants of Rwandan Hutu war criminals and suggested the deployment of his troops without Tshisekedi's approval.
Kagame denied that Rwanda armed the M23 group. The rebels themselves claim they supposedly found weapons in mines that were left behind during the retreat in 2013. The Rwandan leader emphasizes that all M23 members are Congolese citizens, and the reason for their uprising lies in the internal problems of the DRC.
Regarding the de-escalation of relations between the countries, Kagame and Tshisekedi agreed at a summit in Angola in July 2022. According to a statement from the Congolese president's office, the roadmap called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, as well as an immediate withdrawal of rebels from positions of the DRC army. However, the M23 movement stated that it did not consider itself obliged to adhere to the roadmap.
The current escalation is likely a continuation of the struggle for resources. According to UN experts, Rwanda has sent up to 4,000 troops and provided significant firepower, including rockets and snipers, to support the rebels. Official Kigali accused Kinshasa of provoking hostilities.
How the world is reacting to the new escalation
In response to the rebels' offensive, the DRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Rwanda. The latter evacuated its diplomatic corps from Kinshasa but denies supporting M23 despite the obvious facts. However, it previously acknowledged the deployment of troops and missile systems in the eastern part of the neighboring country "for its own security."
According to estimates from the UN refugee agency, since the beginning of 2025, around 400,000 people have been forcibly displaced in North and South Kivu. Reports have emerged regarding strikes on displaced persons' camps. Specifically, last week five makeshift shelters were destroyed, and one camp near Goma suffered significant damage.
Recently, the UN Security Council called for an end to the offensive. In a detailed statement, both Rwanda and the DRC were urged to return to negotiations to achieve peace and resolve issues related to the presence of Rwandan troops in the eastern part of the DRC and the support of Congolese rebel forces in Rwanda.
The Security Council statement condemned "the blatant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC, including the unauthorized presence of foreign forces." The specific identity of these foreign forces is not mentioned, but it is demanded that they "immediately withdraw."
In the first reaction to the crisis under the new administration of Donald Trump, the US temporary ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, stated that the United States would consider all tools to hold accountable those who support the armed conflict.
"We condemn the actions of Rwanda and M23 in Goma and the attack on Sake