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March 23 Movement Mouvement du 23-Mars (in French)
Leader	Bertrand Bisimwa (president) Sultani Makenga (military chief) Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero (former president)
Dates of operation	May 6, 2012 (2012-05-06) – present
Active regions	Democratic Republic of the Congo, primarily North Kivu
Notable attacks	Kivu conflict M23 rebellion M23 offensive (2022) Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda tensions (2022–present)
Status	Active
Size	At least 5,500 (c. late 2012)
Allies	Rwanda
Opponents	Democratic Republic of the Congo Wagner Group (allegedly) Wazalendo

The March 23 Movement (French: Mouvement du 23 mars), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (Armée révolutionnaire du Congo), is a Congolese Tutsi-led rebel military group. Based in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it operates mainly in the province of North Kivu, which borders both Uganda and Rwanda. The M23 rebellion of 2012 to 2013 against the DRC government led to the displacement of large numbers of people. On 20 November 2012, M23 took control of Goma, a provincial capital with a population of a million people, but it was requested to evacuate it by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region because the DRC government had finally agreed to negotiate. In late 2012, Congolese troops, along with UN troops, retook control of Goma, and M23 announced a ceasefire and said that it wanted to resume peace talks.

A United Nations report found that Rwanda created and commanded the M23 rebel group. Rwanda ceased its support because of international pressure and the military defeat by the DRC and the UN in 2013.

In 2017, M23 elements resumed their insurgency in the DRC, but the operations of this splinter faction had little local impact. In 2022, a larger portion of M23 started an offensive, which eventually resulted in the capture of the Congolese border town of Bunagana by the rebels. In November 2022, M23 rebels got close to the city of Goma and forced about 180,000 people to leave their homes after the Congolese Army had withdrawn from the region near the village of Kibumba. In June 2023, Human Rights Watch reported human rights abuses by M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including unlawful killings, rapes and other war crimes. Allegations implicate Rwandan support for these actions, bringing concerns about war crimes and making the humanitarian situation worse in the region. The United Nations Security Council encouraged sanctions against the M23 leaders and implicated Rwandan officials. As of February 2023, the group occupies various major towns in eastern North Kivu including Bunagana, Kiwanja, Kitchanga, Rubaya, Rutshuru, and controls vital roads leading to Goma.

Background

On 23 March 2009, the Tutsi-dominated rebel group National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) signed a peace treaty with the Congolese government. The 2009 treaty, negotiated after the arrest of CNDP leader General Laurent Nkunda, included provisions for prisoner releases, the transformation of the CNDP into a political party, the reintegration of refugees, and the integration of CNDP members into government institutions and the Congolese army. However, these measures were met with resistance from the local population, who viewed CNDP leaders as perpetrators of crimes and believed they should face justice. Former CNDP soldiers integrated into the Congolese army were accused of exploiting their positions to control the trafficking of minerals. M23 takes its name from the date of these peace accords.

In August 2012, M23's leadership structure was formalized, with Bishop Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero, a former CNDP member, appointed as president, and Colonel Sultani Makenga heading its military wing, the Revolutionary Army of Congo (Armée Révolutionnaire du Congo, ARC). Makenga was later sanctioned by the United States for orchestrating atrocities against civilians.

Operations

Formation

The M23 was formed on 4 April 2012 when nearly 300 soldiers - the majority of them former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) - turned against the DRC government, citing poor conditions in the army and the government's unwillingness to implement the 23 March 2009 peace deal. This agreement sought to integrate CNDP fighters into the national army, transition the CNDP into a political entity, and address critical issues such as refugee reintegration. However, the pact encountered opposition from local communities, who viewed CNDP leaders as culpable for heinous crimes warranting legal accountability.

Tensions escalated as ex-CNDP soldiers, accused of exploiting their military positions to monopolize mineral trafficking in eastern DRC, resisted governmental efforts to redeploy them outside their entrenched power bases. This perceived violation of the 2009 accord precipitated a mutiny in April 2012, led by Colonel Sultani Makenga. General Bosco Ntaganda, infamously known as "The Terminator", emerged as a key figure linked to M23's formation. Indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Ntaganda reportedly collaborated with Makenga to unite mutinous factions, as highlighted in a 2012 United Nations report. The report also detailed extensive military, financial, and political support for M23 from high-ranking Rwandan officials, including direct assistance from Rwanda's defense forces, recruitment efforts on Rwandan soil, logistical support, and direct involvement in M23 operations in the DRC. Human Rights Watch accused the group of committing widespread war crimes, including summary executions, rape, and forced recruitment, asserting that some Rwandan authorities could be complicit due to their continued support for M23 activities. In response to the mutiny, Congolese President Joseph Kabila called for Ntaganda's arrest on 11 April 2012, but the rebellion culminated in the formal establishment of the March 23 Movement, named after the date of the original peace agreement.

The M23 is made up primarily of Tutsis and opposes the Hutu Power militia Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (a group that counts among its number the original members of the Interahamwe that carried out the 1994 Rwandan Genocide) as well as area Mai-Mai (community militias mostly created and supported by DRC). However, allegations of exploiting the FDLR's presence as justification for external interference, particularly by Rwanda, have added to the complexity of the conflict. To be able to upstaff the troops, occupied villages were asked to deliver youngsters for the formation of village defence committees. This way, a larger number of more experienced soldiers could be stationed on the battlefield. However, this approach backfired when M23 troops tried to extort from the local population, since the armed youngsters defended their own villagers.

Following military successes, M23 rebels made additional demands, citing issues of human rights, democracy, as well as good governance. They have accused President Kabila of cheating in the November 2011 elections. The rebels have threatened to march on Kinshasa and depose the president. Despite these stated objectives, M23's actions, including forced displacement, human rights violations, and the disruption of economic and social life in eastern DRC, undermined its claims of pursuing reform.

Mutiny

The rebels were active in North Kivu province, fighting government forces in the Rutshuru and Masisi territories. On 6 June 2012 a Congolese spokesman reported that 200 M23 soldiers had died in the mutiny and that over 370 soldiers had surrendered to FARDC, including 25 Rwandan citizens. On 8 July 2012, Colonel Sultani Makenga announced that a government offensive to dislodge the group from their hideouts had failed, and that they had in turn captured several towns towards Goma, the provincial capital.

Late 2012 offensive

Capture of Goma

March 23 Movement forces had advanced to the outskirts of Goma by 18 November 2012 and warned the UN peacekeepers (MONUSCO) not to support government troops. Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende accused Rwanda of backing the rebels. "The DRC has "not yet declared war, but we are ready to face it. This is our country, our duty".

M23 rebels advanced on Goma 20 November, and the Congolese Army retreated with little fighting. M23 eventually captured the city after intense fighting involving mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy artillery. M23 forces paraded through the city, and some residents turned out to welcome them. The conflict resulted in at least nine deaths and 64 injuries, including civilians and soldiers. The group's actions included the killing of a young boy suspected of Mai-Mai affiliation in the Ndosho neighborhood. Congolese customs officers abandoned their posts, leaving the border to Rwanda open. United Nations peacekeepers watched the occupation without intervening, stating that their mandate was limited to protecting the safety of civilians. Jeune Afrique later reported that M23 rebels acquired as well as six artillery pieces (type 26 and BM-type rocket launchers) approximately ~20 shipping containers filled with arms and ammunitions of various caliber, all of which were abandoned by the FARDC during their retreat from Goma.

DR Congo president Joseph Kabila urged Goma's citizens to "resist" the M23 takeover. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticized the M23 for alleged human rights violations during the takeover, including "intimidation of journalists", and abduction of women and children. Noting that the First Congo War had begun with fighting in the same region, the New York Times described the takeover of Goma as "raising serious questions about the stability of Congo as a whole". On 21 November, further atrocities were reported, including the murder of a soldier's wife at the Katindo camp entrance. The attack occurred after a dispute with an M23 guard, who used a bayonet to kill her in broad daylight. The same day, the International Criminal Court (ICC) reopened investigations into Bosco Ntaganda and Sylvestre Mudacumura. In response to the escalating crisis, President Joseph Kabila convened with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala. The tripartite summit issued a joint communiqué imploring M23 to relinquish control of Goma. However, M23 refused, demanding direct negotiations with President Kabila as a prerequisite for withdrawal. The United Nations Security Council enacted Resolution 2076 (2012), unequivocally condemning M23's aggression and demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities. The European Union echoed these calls for an end to violence. Despite mounting international pressure, M23 remained defiant, conditioning its retreat on meeting its political and territorial demands.

On 22 November, the FARDC, in cooperation with local Mai-Mai elements, routed the M23 rebels from the nearby town of Sake, 27 kilometers from Goma, as they marched towards Bukavu. Also 22 November, Kabila suspended General Gabriel Amisi's FARDC commission because of an inquiry into his alleged role in arms sales to various rebel groups, including the FDLR, in the eastern part of the country, so it implicated M23. That day, M23 soldiers facilitated the extrajudicial killing of a suspected thief in the Ndosho neighborhood, where he was burned alive by a mob. The group justified the act by claiming a lack of detention facilities. On 23 November, M23 rebels retook Sake from the FARDC after an intense four-hour battle and reinforced their position in the town, as they reportedly moved toward Kirotshe to the south, Mushaki to the north-west, and Kingi to the north. Meanwhile, the FARDC reinforced their position in Minova, near the South Kivu provincial border, with more than 3500 soldiers. The UN has declared that it lost access to 30 of its 31 refugee camps in the area due to the M23 offensive. On 24 November in South Kivu, Colonel Albert Kahasha, who had surrendered and joined government troops along with other leaders of Mai-Mai militia groups Raïa Mutomboki and Nyatura. On 13 November he defected again from the FARDC. At a regional meeting in Kampala, leaders of the Great Lakes area gave M23 a two-day ultimatum to leave Goma. A combined force which would include international troops, a FARDC company, and a M23 company would be posted near Goma Airport and would take charge of security. During the nights of 24–25 November, M23 soldiers looted homes in the Keshero neighborhood, stealing money and material goods. When the ultimatum expired on 26 November, M23 still controlled the city. The FARDC, had previously withdrawn after raping almost 126 women, some of them less than 10 years old, according to the United Nations and looting the money and possessions of the local population, came from Minova in a counteroffensive launched against M23 positions in the Masisi, North Kivu region on 27 November. M23 set up a road block on the road from Goma to Sake and reportedly extorted funds from drivers. That same day, M23 forces killed Mr. Uzaribara Baba Rehema, a father of six, and stole his vehicle. The same night, an assassination attempt was made on the Director General of the Higher Institute of Pedagogy, although he narrowly escaped.

Between 20–27 November, M23 orchestrated the escape of approximately 1,500 prisoners from Goma's Munzenze central prison, including individuals serving life sentences. M23 also transported heavy weaponry and ammunition abandoned by FARDC to Rwanda via the Bunagana border. This included combat tanks and an estimated 1,000 tons of military equipment, reportedly moved under the observation of the MONUSCO. The office for Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI-Goma), the Goma Public Prosecutor's Office, and the Katindo camp hospital were stripped of movable assets, furniture, and equipment. Even museum artifacts from the governorate were looted. Vehicles and equipment from state agencies like the Office des Routes and the Office des Voiries et Drainage (OVD) were stolen and transported to Rwanda. The homes of provincial ministers, deputies, military officers, and other officials were ransacked, with valuable goods taken to Rwanda. Entire neighborhoods, including Himbi and Keshero, suffered similar fates, with civilians subjected to violence. Food stocks, vehicles, and donations from the European Union meant for the Congolese National Police were seized.

Following a peace deal negotiated in Uganda, the M23 said it would withdraw from Goma by 1 December. On 30 November, M23 troops began to withdraw from Sake and Masisi. That same day, a contingent of 200 police officers arrived in Goma in anticipation of M23's withdrawal. However, M23 operatives allegedly maintained a presence in the city, disguised in civilian police uniforms. The occupation of Goma triggered a massive displacement crisis; by 30 November, over 130,000 people had fled their homes and sought refuge in camps surrounding the city. Notable concentrations of displaced persons included 61,200 in Mugunga 1, 31,170 at Lac Vert, and 30,000 in Mugunga III. Living conditions in these camps were dire, with most displaced persons deprived of adequate humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. The Mugunga 3 camp, located 7 km from Goma, was also looted by M23, with rebels stealing food, clothing, and personal items from vulnerable individuals. Adolescents were reportedly forced to carry stolen goods, and six cases of rape were documented during the assault on the camp. Despite the presence of MONUSCO peacekeepers, M23 operated with impunity, openly transporting looted goods to Rwanda. On 3 December 2012, FARDC and Congolese government officials re-enter Goma, two days after M23 left the city.

On 24 February 2013, leaders of eleven African nations signed an agreement designed to bring peace to the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, among them Rwanda and Uganda. Both had been accused of aiding the M23 rebellion, a charge they denied. M23 was not represented either in the negotiations, or at the signing.

On 18 March 2013, Bosco Ntaganda handed himself in to the U.S. embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, where he requested transfer to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Though the reasons for his surrender are unknown it was speculated that he was either pressured to do so by Rwanda or feared infighting within the M23 movement and its military leader Sultani Makenga, which had recently forced Ntaganda's forces to flee the DRC into Rwanda. Though Rwanda was not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the media speculated it would be forced to turn him over to the ICC. The U.S. also had listed him on its Rewards for Justice Program. On 22 March, he was detained by the ICC and appeared for the first time in front of the ICC on 26 March, to which he denied charges of rape, murder, and other offenses.

End of the first rebellion

In March 2013, the United Nations Security Council authorized the deployment of an intervention brigade within MONUSCO to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without the Congolese national army, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC. The brigade is based in North Kivu and is made up of a total of 3,069 peacekeepers. It is tasked with neutralizing armed groups, reducing the threat posed to State authority and civilian security and make space for stabilization activities. The FIB alongside the Government Forces (FARDC) engaged the M23 in July 2013, August 2013 and September to October 2013.

On 6 November 2013 government forces launched an assault on M23 rebel position in the east of the country. This occurred one day after insurgents called for a ceasefire. The following day M23 issued a document that said they had "decided from this day to end its rebellion" and instead to pursue its goals "through purely political means". On 7 November, Sultani Makenga, the leader of M23, surrendered with about 1,500 M23 fighters in Mgahinga National Park, Uganda. They were eventually moved to refugee camps in Uganda.

After peace declarations were signed between the DRC Government and M23 rebels on 12 December 2013, issues of legal accountability for the rebellion remain because of international pressure.

Resurgence

In 2017, M23 commander Sultani Makenga and about 100 to 200 of his followers fled from Uganda to resume their insurgency, setting up camp at Mount Mikeno in the border area between Rwanda, Uganda, and the DR Congo. The operations of this splinter group remained marginal, and were not supported by the rest of M23. In March 2022, Makenga's group launched an offensive from their remote bases; these first attacks achieved little. After failed peace talks in April 2022, however, the M23 faction of Bisimwa joined the offensive. In May 2022, M23 fighters launched their most sustained attack since the start of their new offensive, overrunning a Congolese army base at Rumangabo. On 13 June, the rebels captured the important border town of Bunagana.

On 20 October 2022 the group launched its latest offensive in the east of DRC forcing thousands to escape. After the M23 attacks of 2022, the Congolese government blamed Rwanda, and accused President Paul Kagame's government of supporting the rebels, charges which Kigali denied. In November 2022 M23 rebels got close to the city of Goma, forcing about 180,000 people to leave their homes after the Congolese army withdrew from the region close to the village of Kibumba.

On 25 November 2022, M23 agreed on a ceasefire.

Internal conflicts

On 25 February 2013, disagreement between factions of the M23 about how to react to the peace agreement led to violence. M23's political leader, Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero, was sacked. In a statement signed by M23's military leader, Sultani Makenga, he was accused of treason because of "financial embezzlement, divisions, ethnic hatred, deceit and political immaturity". Makenga declared himself interim leader and clashes between those loyal to Sultani Makenga and those loyal to Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero, who is allied with Bosco Ntaganda, have killed ten men and two others were hospitalized. M23 has denied that it is hit by dissent.

By 2022, M23 was split into factions loyal to Bertrand Bisimwa, Jean-Marie Runiga, and Sultani Makenga.

See also

• Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda relations

References

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Works cited

• "Easing the Turmoil in the Eastern DR Congo and Great Lakes" (PDF). Crisis Group Africa Briefing (181). Nairobi, Brussels: International Crisis Group. 25 May 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.

Further reading

• Broache, Michael (November 2016). "Irrelevance, instigation and prevention: the mixed effects of international criminal court prosecutions on atrocities in the CNDP/M23 case". International Journal of Transitional Justice. 10 (3). Oxford Journals: 388–409. doi:10.1093/ijtj/ijw020.
• Koko, Sadiki (2014). "The Mouvement du 23 Mars and the dynamics of a failed insurgency in the Democratic Republic of Congo". South African Journal of International Affairs. 21 (2). Taylor and Francis: 261–278. doi:10.1080/10220461.2014.942207. S2CID 154084869.
• Mbavu Muhindo, Vincent (2014). De l'AFDL au M23 en République démocratique du Congo. L'Harmattan: Paris. ISBN 9782343040318.

External links

• UN Group of Experts final report 2012
• Full text of the Agenda for the Dialogue between the Government of the DRC and the M23 on the situation in Eastern Congo, 16 January 2013, UN Peacemaker

v t e Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda relations
Diplomacy	Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement Pretoria Accord Sun City Agreement COMESA Gorilla Agreement East African Community Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries
Military relations	East African campaign (World War I) Simba rebellion Rwandan Civil War First Congo War AFDL Lemera massacre Massacres of Hutus Second Congo War Dongo conflict Kivu conflict Makobola massacre 2008 Nord-Kivu campaign 2009 Eastern Congo offensive March 23 Movement M23 rebellion M23 offensive Kishishe massacre
Incidents	2012 Congolese–Rwandan border clash Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda tensions (2022–present)
Related	Border Banyamulenge Bwito Chiefdom Kaziba Chiefdom Ngweshe Chiefdom Belgian colonial empire Kivu frontier incident Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mercenaries and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Rwandan Revolution Katanga insurgency Kanyarwanda War Rwandan genocide Great Lakes refugee crisis FDLR RCD MONUSCO International Criminal Court investigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2014 Mutarule attack Kipupu massacre
Category

• March 23 Movement
• 2012 establishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Military units and formations established in 2012
• North Kivu
• Rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo