While a peace deal is proving slow to take effect on the ground, the M23 armed group is consolidating its political and economic hold on the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It has begun recruiting officials and imposing taxes, as well as training judges, soldiers, and police, in a bid to create parallel administrative structures to those of the Kinshasa government.
Eastern DRC, rich in mineral resources and bordering Rwanda, has been riven by conflict for more than 30 years. The crisis intensified with the 2021 resurgence of the M23 — a Rwandan-backed armed group fighting the Kinshasa authorities — and came to a head early in 2025 when the militia seized the key cities of Goma and Bukavu.
What is happening in the DRC? | Explained
The M23 subsequently found itself in control of a vast territory where everything needs to be rebuilt. The government has shuttered banks and most other administrative services in the volatile East, and many civil servants have fled.
The M23, whose stated aim is to overthrow the government of President Felix Tshisekedi, plans to “establish a new model of administration [based] on transparency and efficiency”, the leader of its political wing, Corneille Nangaa, said in late September 2025.
