The M23, an armed group supported by Rwanda, continues its « expansion territoriale » in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) despite a ceasefire, the rebels expanding the recruitment of fighters and executives to administer the conquered territories, according to a UN expert report published Wednesday 8 January.
These researchers, mandated by the UN Security Council, estimate in their biannual report that the M23 (March 23 Movement), supported by Kigali and its army, continued to “great territorial advances” over the last few months, strengthening its “control over occupied areas”.
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This report was published a few days after the rebels captured Masisi on Saturday, the key town and administrative capital of the Masisi territory, located about 80 kilometers north of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province. Intense fighting was still underway on Wednesday, with the Congolese army (FARDC) supported by a myriad of pro-Kinshasa militias trying to retake the city, which has some 40,000 inhabitants.
“Flagrant violations of the ceasefire”
Since November 2021, the M23 has seized large swathes of territory in eastern DRC, rich in natural resources and torn apart by conflicts for thirty years. A ceasefire was signed at the end of July, but it was regularly undermined on the ground. Washington denounced Monday “blatant violations of the ceasefire” by the M23 due to the capture of Masisi.
-In December 2024, a summit in Luanda to bring together the Congolese and Rwandan presidents, led by Angola, designated mediator by the African Union, ended in failure, due to lack of agreement concerning the conditions necessary for the signing of a peace agreement. According to UN experts, the latest ceasefire was initially respected. But this “relative calm” notably allowed the rebels to “restock with weapons”.
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The rebellion also continued “its voluntary and forced recruitment, including minors”according to UN experts, thousands of new recruits, coming from the territories it controls and neighboring provinces, who were trained in its military camps. “Between September 25 and October 31, 2024, at least 3,000 recruits completed their training”underline the authors of the report.
The M23 also extended “the training of civil administrative executives to administer controlled localities”according to experts. Which suggests, according to them, that “the real objective of the M23 remains territorial expansion, occupation and long-term exploitation of conquered territories”.
