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),[9] is a Congolese Tutsi-led rebel military group.[10] Based in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it operates mainly in the province of North Kivu, which borders both Uganda and Rwanda, and is backed by Rwanda. The M23 was formed in 2012 and first saw action during its first rebellion against the Congolese government that led to the displacement of large numbers of people. On 20 November 2012, M23 took control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu with a population of a million people, but was persuaded to withdraw from the city by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region because the Congolese government had finally agreed to negotiate with the rebel group. In late 2012, Congolese troops, along with UN peacekeeping troops, retook Goma, and the M23 announced a ceasefire and said that it wanted to resume peace talks.[11]
A United Nations report found that Rwanda created and commanded the M23 rebel group.[12] Rwanda ceased its support due to international pressure and the military defeat by the Congolese military and the UN peacekeeping forces in 2013.[13]
In 2017, M23 remnants resumed their insurgency in the Congo, although it was largely a low-level insurgency.[14] However, the M23 reorganized in 2022 and launched a subsequent offensive, which eventually resulted in the capture of the Congolese border town of Bunagana by the rebels.[15][16] 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rebels got close to the city of Goma and forced about 180,000 people to leave their homes after the Congolese Army had withdrawn from the region near the village of Kibumba.[17] In June 2023, Human Rights Watch reported human rights abuses by M23 rebels in the Congo, including unlawful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.[18] As of January 2025, the group occupies various major towns in eastern North Kivu including Bunagana, Kiwanja,[19] Kitchanga,[20] Rubaya,[21] Rutshuru,[19] and the city of Goma.[22]
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