M23 (March 23 Movement)

Force in Play

Controls Goma, Bukavu, and large areas of eastern DRC; engaged in peace talks and active combat simultaneously

Congolese authorities have uncovered at least 171 bodies in two mass graves on the outskirts of Uvira, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that the M23 rebel group withdrew from in January after the United States requested the pullback as a trust-building gesture. Local officials and civil society groups say the victims were killed by M23 fighters who suspected them of ties to the Congolese army or pro-government militias. M23 denies involvement.

Updated Feb 27

Force in Play

Controls large swaths of eastern DRC including major mining sites

A landslide at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed more than 400 people on January 29, 2026—miners, children, and market workers buried when rain-soaked tunnels collapsed. The mine, controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group since May 2024, supplies roughly 15% of the world's coltan, which becomes tantalum capacitors in smartphones and aircraft engines worldwide. M23 extracts an estimated $800,000 monthly by taxing every gram of ore.

Updated Feb 5