DRC Launches Attacks against M23 (Rwanda)
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), alongside the United States, was alarmed by decisive battlefield gains made by the Congo River Alliance (AFC) in mid-December 2025—advances spearheaded by the Tutsi-led M23 insurgency, which is widely viewed as being backed by Rwanda. Against this backdrop, a critical question now looms: will Washington condemn Kinshasa for triggering a new phase of the conflict after central government forces launched coordinated attacks across several military fronts this week?
According to France 24, “Kinshasa’s forces launched attacks on several fronts against AFC/M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, with drones striking the armed group near a strategic mining site,” citing local and security sources speaking to Agence France-Presse. The use of drones marks a notable escalation, signalling Kinshasa’s willingness to apply asymmetric force to reclaim territory long dominated by rebel groups.
Last year, M23 forces entered Uvira, a strategically vital city in South Kivu province—an advance that cast a long and destabilizing shadow over the US-brokered peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda. That accord, already fragile, now risks further erosion as Kinshasa seeks to reverse rebel momentum. The question remains how the United States will respond to Congolese military operations against forces it previously acknowledged were backed by Rwanda, particularly amid a ceasefire framework that has been repeatedly violated.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was unequivocal last year, branding the M23 advance a “clear violation” of the peace deal—an assessment that underscored Washington’s mounting frustration with Kigali’s denials. This time, however, it is the DRC attempting to regain the initiative and reassert control over strategically vital regions.
This shift is especially evident around the mining town of Rubaya, where drone strikes—conducted using Chinese and Turkish systems—have targeted AFC and M23 positions. Rubaya’s coltan mine is of immense global significance, supplying an estimated 15–30% of this critical resource used in mobile phones, laptops, and advanced electronics. Control of Rubaya is therefore not merely a local military objective, but a matter of international economic consequence.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “France fully supports mediation efforts for a lasting political solution in the Great Lakes region, the cessation of hostilities, a ceasefire, and respect for the authority of the state and the territorial integrity of the DRC.”
Yet Macron is fully aware that such language is implicitly weighted against Rwanda and the M23, glossing over Kigali’s long-standing security anxieties rooted in regional history.
As AP News reports, the conflict remains deeply entangled with a decades-long ethnic struggle. M23 claims it is defending Congolese Tutsis, while Rwanda argues that these communities face persecution by Hutu militias—some of which are linked to perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Kigali insists that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) are “fully integrated” into the Congolese military, an accusation Kinshasa firmly denies.
Meanwhile, the DRC’s military capabilities are being enhanced through drone technology supplied or supported by NATO member Turkey and China. Yet Rwanda’s own military capacity remains formidable by regional standards, ensuring that any miscalculation could rapidly escalate beyond control.
If peace efforts are to carry genuine credibility, regional actors and the wider international community must engage Rwanda directly and seriously—acknowledging its historical trauma and security concerns rather than dismissing them for diplomatic convenience. Without such realism, ceasefires will continue to fracture, mediation will remain performative, and the people of eastern Congo will once again bear the cost.
Wars continue to scar vast swathes of Africa—from the Sahel to northern Mozambique—underscoring a grim truth: unresolved grievances, selective diplomacy, and strategic denial remain lethal forces in their own right.
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