The Democratic Republic of Congo, devastated by three decades of conflict, is experiencing a fresh surge of violence since the M23 armed group resurfaced in 2021. The United Nations has stated that Rwanda provides military support to this group.
On April 9, 2025, following a meeting between Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, negotiations began in Doha between the Alliance fleuve Congo—the political arm of the M23—and the Congolese government, with Qatar acting as mediator.
Simultaneously, the United States led talks aimed at a peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda. After several months of discussions, an accord was finally signed on June 27, 2025, in the presence of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Since then, the region “faces a stalemate,” observes Bob Kabamba, a political scientist at the University of Liège. “The territorial gains of the rebellion remain under its control, and we are seeing exchanges of fire and ceasefire violations from both the Congolese government and the M23.”
Despite the agreement, the M23 “continues to recruit troops,” the professor notes. “In this logic, the rebellion currently has the upper hand. … It is this balance of power on the ground that will allow the parties to impose their agenda in the future,” he summarizes.
Fighting between Kinshasa’s forces and the M23 rebels has intensified in recent months in eastern DRC, all while an Ebola outbreak continues. One year ago, a peace accord was signed in Washington, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Congolese and Rwandan counterparts present.
