Rebel forces backed by Rwanda have seized control of the town of Masisi in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as per multiple reports. This marks the second capture by the M23 group in just two days within the mineral-rich North Kivu province.
Since 2021, the M23 group has gained significant territory in eastern DR Congo, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents. Efforts by Angola to facilitate dialogue between President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have faltered, with talks collapsing last month.
Alexis Bahunga, a member of the North Kivu provincial assembly, expressed grave concern over the takeover of Masisi, which he said has led to a severe humanitarian crisis. He urged the Congolese government to bolster military support in the area. Locals reported that the M23 held a meeting in the town, proclaiming their mission as a liberation effort.
The Congolese authorities have yet to issue a statement regarding the loss of Masisi, which has a population of around 40,000 and serves as the capital of its namesake territory. Masisi is situated approximately 80 kilometers north of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, which the M23 briefly held in 2012.
On Friday, the M23 also captured the nearby town of Katale. There had been concerns last year that the group would advance toward Goma, a city with about two million inhabitants; however, fighting subsided until early December when hostilities resumed.
In July, Rwanda did not dispute a United Nations report indicating that approximately 4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting alongside the M23 in DR Congo. The Rwandan government accused the Congolese administration of inadequately addressing years of conflict in the region, alleging that DR Congo’s authorities collaborated with individuals connected to the 1994 Rwandan genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The M23, which emerged as a splinter group in 2012, originally claimed to protect the Tutsi community in eastern DR Congo from longstanding persecution. Critics of Rwanda contend that the country exploits the M23 to extract valuable minerals like gold, cobalt, and tantalum from eastern DR Congo—resources essential for manufacturing mobile phones and electric car batteries.
Recently, DR Congo filed a lawsuit against a major tech company over the use of “blood minerals,” leading the company to announce it had ceased its sourcing from the region.
