Also known as: Rwanda-backed M23 rebels · M23 anti-governmental group · Rwanda-backed M23 militia · AFC/M23 · M23 rebellion · M23 armed group · M23 movement
M23 — Rwanda-backed armed group operating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; cited by UN experts for violence including sexual torture and murder.
… The peace deal contained commitments on the protection of Congolese Tutsi communities, citizenship and identity rights, the return of refugees, and the integration of former combatants.Whether one accepts the AFC/M23's justification or not, it is difficult to ignore that many of …
Audio By VocalizeFDLR soldiers are searched by a Rwandan official at the main border crossing between DR Congo and Rwanda in Goma on March 1, 2025, during their repatriation by the M23 movement to Rwanda. …
… REUTERS Audio By Vocalize Members of the Congolese community in Kenya have called on the government to investigate alleged recruitment, mobilisation and fundraising activities linked to the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)/M23 movement in Nairobi, warning that Kenya's democratic freed …
… a = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-m', container: 'taboola-mid-article-thumbnails', placement: 'Mid Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' }); Rwanda has long accused Congo of cooperating with the group, while Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing AFC/M23 …
… REUTERS Audio By Vocalize United Nations experts appealed on Tuesday for an end to the "reign of terror" imposed by the M23 armed group in DR Congo, citing civilian reports of sexual torture and murder. …
… pushed loaded with items belonging to internally displaced persons, as they leave the camps in Bulengo on February 12, 2025. [AFP] The United Nations called Thursday for an immediate end to fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between the armed forces and the M23 …
… If peace is the genuine objective, mediators must abandon this obsession with interstate tensions and pivot decisively toward the inter-Congolese conflict that fuels them.The dominant narrative is seductively simple: Rwanda is allegedly backing the M23 rebellion to pressure Kinsh …
The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes region has called on the DRC to swiftly implement a disarmament protocol after an FDLR faction formally accepted and signed it on July 28. The ICG, chaired by France and including the US, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the EU, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, urged Kinshasa to develop an operational plan and realistic timeline for the effective neutralisation of the FDLR.
The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes region has called on the DRC to swiftly implement a disarmament protocol after an FDLR faction formally accepted and signed it on July 28. The ICG, chaired by France and including the US, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the EU, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, urged Kinshasa to develop an operational plan and realistic timeline for the effective neutralisation of the FDLR.
An opinion piece argues that decades of explanation for the eastern DRC conflict have focused narrowly on minerals, foreign interference, and military action while ignoring people's rights and political failures, and that finding a sustainable solution requires moving beyond these simplistic narratives to confront the conflict's underlying causes.
The article argues that Western governments view the FDLR militia as one weakened armed group among many in eastern DRC, while Rwanda regards it as the surviving military and ideological heir to genocide forces and an existential national security threat rooted in its ideology, intentions, and access to recruitment networks.
Members of Kenya's Congolese community have called on the government to investigate alleged recruitment, mobilisation and fundraising activities by the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 movement in Nairobi, urging that Kenya's democratic freedoms not be exploited to fuel the conflict in eastern DRC.
Congo announced that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan armed group operating in eastern Congo, had signed a disarmament protocol, but Rwanda rejected the move as violating a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between the two countries aimed at ending the regional conflict.
Democratic Republic of Congo's constitutional court approved a proposal allowing President Felix Tshisekedi to seek a third term after a referendum, despite the current constitution limiting him to two terms ending in 2028. The process would require a panel of experts, constituent assembly approval by three-fifths majority, and a public vote.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's constitutional court approved a proposal that could allow President Felix Tshisekedi to run for a third term after a referendum. Tshisekedi, in power since 2019, is constitutionally required to step down at the end of his second five-year term in 2028, but has suggested he would accept a third term if people wanted him to.
United Nations experts have appealed for an end to the M23 armed group's "reign of terror" in the Democratic Republic of Congo, citing civilian reports of sexual torture and murder. The experts noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reported more than 90,000 cases of sexual violence related to armed conflict in DRC in 2025.
Seven American aid workers who had been in Congo fighting an Ebola outbreak are quarantining at a new isolation facility in Kenya after the U.S. government introduced travel restrictions requiring Americans returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo to spend three weeks in a third country before entering the United States.
Seven American aid workers who were in Congo fighting an Ebola outbreak are quarantining at a new isolation facility in Kenya after the U.S. introduced travel restrictions requiring American citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo to spend three weeks in a third country before entering the United States.
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is the "fastest growing" ever, with 1,759 confirmed cases and 600 deaths since mid-May, according to African health authorities and the WHO. The Africa CDC head said the current outbreak is spreading faster than previous ones, including the 2013-16 West Africa epidemic, with case numbers doubling every 28 days.
The United Nations urged an immediate halt to fighting between Democratic Republic of Congo armed forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia in eastern DRC, which has displaced civilians and destroyed livelihoods despite a fragile peace deal reached in December.
The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 600 people among 1,759 confirmed cases since mid-May, making it the "fastest growing" outbreak ever according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus is doubling every 28 days and spreading faster than response efforts can be deployed.
An opinion piece argues that mediators have wrongly framed the DRC crisis as an interstate dispute between the DRC and Rwanda, when the real driver of regional instability is the inter-Congolese conflict itself. The author contends that unrest within Congo provokes interstate tensions rather than the reverse, and that Rwanda and the DRC were previously cooperating on economic matters including gold processing.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has banned mass gatherings in Kinshasa and three other provinces to halt the spread of Ebola, which has been detected in three eastern provinces roughly 1,800 km away. Opposition figures have criticized the order, alleging it is a political move to block a protest march scheduled for 8 July, though the government has not responded.
A UN independent commission on human rights documented allegations of unlawful killings, sexual violence including sexual slavery, forced recruitment, and attacks on schools and health facilities in North and South Kivu provinces, amid a surge of unrest in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where the army battles the Rwandan-backed M23 group.
Kenya's Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing'oei has called on the Democratic Republic of Congo national football team to use their historic FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification as a unifying force for peace in the Eastern DRC, following the team's dramatic 3-1 comeback victory over Uzbekistan.
An opinion piece argues that Kinshasa is pursuing a military solution to the ongoing DRC conflict while the international community calls for dialogue, noting that while rebels have released prisoners and withdrawn from areas, Kinshasa has not fulfilled its corresponding commitments and continues military escalations around Rubaya and Minembwe highlands.
The Democratic Republic of Congo filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Rwanda of breaching international conventions on genocide, discrimination, and torture, alleging crimes including massacres, extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, and forced displacement spanning over three decades. Congo is seeking an ICJ order for Rwanda to cease violations and award reparations.
The Democratic Republic of Congo filed a case at the International Court of Justice on Friday accusing Rwanda of atrocities, genocide, and widespread human rights violations in eastern DRC since 1996, including massacres, extrajudicial executions, torture, and sexual violence. Kinshasa also accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda denies.
President Felix Tshisekedi is preparing to pass a law that could allow a third term by amending the constitution, with a bill for a referendum on constitutional reform already adopted by parliament. Tshisekedi's current second term ends in December 2028, and he says he will accept a third term if the people want it and it is approved through a referendum.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's Senate passed a bill on holding referendums, potentially allowing President Felix Tshisekedi to change the constitution and seek a third term. Tshisekedi, in office since 2019 and due to end his second term in 2028, said last month he would agree to a third term "if the people wish it" after a referendum on constitutional reform.
Two opposition figures were injured on Friday at a rally against government plans to change the constitution in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was broken up by police after clashes with pro-government supporters. President Felix Tshisekedi, in power since 2019, has indicated he would accept a third term "if the people wish it" following a referendum on constitutional reform.
The United States has imposed sanctions on M23 intelligence chief John Nzenze and FDLR commander Gustave Kubwayo over alleged human rights abuses, including sexual violence and attacks on civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The US said the measures target individuals linked to instability in the region.
UN health chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited Bunia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday to discuss the severe Ebola outbreak with the community. The outbreak has spread to three eastern DRC provinces and neighbouring Uganda, with at least 1,077 suspected cases in the DRC since May 15.
The World Health Organization head arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday to address a deadly Ebola outbreak declared on May 15, which has recorded at least 1,077 suspected cases and 246 deaths, though authorities warn the true scale may be wider. A patient recovery was confirmed, marking the first since the crisis began.
The Democratic Republic of Congo reported 204 deaths from 867 suspected Ebola cases across three provinces, while Uganda confirmed three new cases and the Africa Centres for Disease Control warned that 10 African countries faced risk of infection.
Uganda confirmed three new Ebola cases on Saturday, bringing its total to five since May 15, while three Red Cross volunteers died in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned that ten countries—Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia—are at risk of being affected.
An angry crowd at Rwampara General Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo set fire to isolation ward tents after family members were prevented from taking away the body of a young man thought to have died from Ebola. Police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd, and a healthcare worker was injured during the unrest.
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to South Kivu province, an area partly controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, amid ongoing insecurity and conflict in eastern DRC. The WHO has classified the outbreak as an international public health emergency, with authorities confirming 64 infections and six deaths, though nearly 671 probable cases and 160 suspected deaths have been reported.