As the DRC Battles Rwanda-backed M23, What’s Needed to Stop the Fighting?

Analysts weigh in on Rwanda’s role in the conflict in DRC, whether minerals are a factor and if diplomacy can succeed.

M23 rebels stand in position at the Grande Barrier border amid clashes with the Congolese army, at the border crossing point at Gisenyi, Rubavu district, Rwanda, on January 29, 2025 [Thomas Mukoya/Reuters]

By Vivianne Wandera

13 Feb 2025

Nairobi, Kenya – Weeks after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels claimed control of the Congolese city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, fighters are advancing in neighbouring South Kivu despite calls from regional leaders for an immediate ceasefire.

Over the weekend, leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc and the East African Community (EAC) bloc met in Tanzania, to discuss a way forward to restore peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while the conflict is also high on the agenda at an African Union foreign ministers’ meeting in Ethiopia this week.

At the Tanzania summit – attended by Angola, Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe – leaders called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the opening of humanitarian corridors.

They also directed defence chiefs from both the EAC and SADC to develop a securitisation plan for Goma and surrounding areas, without elaborating on the details. M23 had declared a ceasefire only days earlier, but resumed attacks this week.

For years, Rwanda has been accused by the United Nations, the DRC and other countries of funding and supplying M23 with weapons, allegations Kigali has long denied. During this recent offensive, Rwanda has neither confirmed nor denied that its soldiers are operating across the border, but also says it is acting in self-defence.

M23 claims it is fighting for the rights of ethnic Tutsis in the DRC, and that it’s engaging in a “defensive” war – even though this has been refuted by critics who point to the group actively seizing territory and mines, committing rights violations, and fuelling mass displacement.

At the same time, Rwanda has been accused of exploiting the DRC’s mineral resources through M23, allegations Kigali denies. M23 seized the coltan-rich area of Rubaya in DRC last year, taking control of the mines there.

Last month’s battle for Goma was the second time the rebel group took over the key city, after first temporarily taking control of it in 2012, forcing more than 140,000 people to flee.

According to the UN, since January 26 nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 2,800 others injured “in attacks by the M23 and their allies”. Since the start of 2025, at least 237,000 people have been displaced by the conflict.

The DRC cut ties with Rwanda after the rebel group’s recent advance on Goma and called for the UN to sanction Kigali. In the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, crowds also burned portraits of President Paul Kagame in protest against Rwandan involvement.