Conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is complex, with a multitude of armed actors and the presence of forces from neighbouring and regional countries.

Conflict in eastern DRC

The eastern part of DRC has been insecure for many years. There are multiple armed groups operating in DRC’s eastern provinces of Itari, north Kivu and south Kivu. Some are reportedly supported by, or directed towards targeting, neighbouring countries. The situation is further complicated by the presence of armed forces from neighbouring states, not all of whom have been invited by the DRC government.

Multiple state and non-state actors

The re-emergence of the M23 movement in 2021, supported by Rwandan Defence Forces, has been of particular concern, although other groups are also responsible for violence and atrocities. 

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), formed by Ugandan rebels, uses its base in DRC to conduct attacks in Uganda and has reported ties to Islamic State/ISIS.

Notable other groups include Wazalendo armed groups, who support DRC’s armed forces against the M23, and the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group based in eastern DRC which is Rwanda’s primary target in the country. Burundi’s military is also reportedly present in eastern DRC.

The ADF, M23 and FDLR are all sanctioned under UN Security Council resolution 1533 (2004).

In December 2023, soldiers from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania deployed to support the Congolese armed forces fighting armed groups operating in the Eastern DRC as part of a Southern African Development Community mission. There is also a long-standing UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, which is meant to be winding down but remains in country.

Intense violence caused the security and humanitarian situation to deteriorate in 2024.

Capture of Goma

In January 2025 the M23 movement, supported by elements of the Rwandan Defence Force and other rebel groups, took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu. Several peacekeepers with the UN and Southern African missions, including 14 from South Africa, died during the attacks. In February, M23 advanced on Bukavu, the second largest city in the east.

The capture of Goma sparked international condemnation. The UN Security Council held two emergency sessions, and the two regional groups held a joint summit in mid-February. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy gave a statement to the House of Commons on 28 January 2025 on the situation..

The UK Government has called for:

• an immediate cessation of hostilities
• withdrawal of all RDF from Congolese territory, and
• a return to dialogue through African-led peace processes.

The UK, among others, has also expressed concern about the humanitarian impact on the civilian population; Goma had become a refuge for people fleeing fighting elsewhere in the region.

The UK Government has indicated it could review its support to Rwanda in light of its involvement in DRC.

Regional involvement

Relations between and among the DRC and neighbouring countries are complex and coloured by periods of interlocking civil wars and inter-state conflict. At one stage troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda were all present in DRC. Their presence also enabled disputes between neighbouring countries to be fought on DRC territory; the Rwandan and Ugandan armies fought over the town of Kisangani in central Congo between 1999 and 2000.

Some countries continue to host or otherwise support armed groups opposed to the leadership of their neighbours, including in DRC.

Mediation efforts

There are two diplomatic initiatives currently underway.

• The Nairobi Process was brokered by the East African Community in November 2022 and focuses on armed groups.
• The Luanda process, mediated by Angola, focuses on relations between the DRC and Rwanda. In July 2022, the three countries signed the Luanda roadmap for peace in eastern DRC. In July 2024 the DRC and Rwanda signed a ceasefire agreement (PDF), again mediated by Angola.

Following the capture of Goma, regional leaders called for the Luanda and Nairobi processes to be merged into one Luanda/Nairobi framework.

Fears of wider conflict

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission told the UN Security Council in July 2024 that that “the rapidly escalating M23 crisis carries the very real risk of provoking a wider regional conflict”.

In January 2025, a senior official with the UN peacekeeping mission spoke of the urgent need for a diplomatic resolution to “avert the looming threat of a third Congo war” (DRC experienced two civil wars between 1996 and 2003).

The FCDO described the advance of M23 and the Rwandan Defence Force into Bukavu in February as a “serious escalation that heightens the risk of a wider regional conflict”.

Drivers of conflict

Political rivalries, land disputes, mineral interests, and foreign intervention are some of the factors driving the upsurge in violence in the east.

The DRC is richly endowed with natural resources and is the world’s leading producer of two critical minerals, cobalt and tantalum, essential to the production of batteries and other electronic components. DRC was also the world’s fourth-largest producer of diamonds in 2023.

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has said one of the drivers of insecurity is “the unbridled race between multiple parties to take control and exploit the country’s wealth of natural resources”.

Türk also blamed the absence of state authority over large swathes of territory as enabling “brutal levels of violence and attacks”.