On Jan. 26, 2025, Democratic Republic of Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner told the United Nations Security Council that Rwanda’s military support for M23 amounted to a declaration of war. Her warning came as the rebel group continued its advance toward Goma, the key eastern city whose capture would mark a major escalation in the conflict.
The Security Council responded by demanding that M23 halt its offensive and that external forces withdraw from the region immediately. It also condemned what it called a flagrant disregard for Congo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while expressing alarm over GPS jamming and spoofing linked to M23 operations. France went further, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot saying the offensive was backed by the Rwandan armed forces and had already killed peacekeepers and displaced thousands of people.
The military situation around Goma was deteriorating fast. AFP reported that between 500 and 1,000 Rwandan soldiers had crossed the border to reinforce M23 near the city. The airport in Goma was evacuated and commercial flights were grounded as gunfire and explosions spread across the outskirts. The United Nations said roads were blocked, the airport could no longer be used for evacuation or humanitarian work, and its staff were effectively trapped. At least three UN peacekeepers were killed, along with seven South African soldiers and three Malawian troops serving in a separate regional mission.
Kenya said Congo and Rwanda had agreed to attend a regional summit within 48 hours to discuss the crisis, but the diplomatic track lagged behind the battlefield. M23 claimed to have captured Goma and ordered government forces to disarm and surrender, though those claims could not be independently verified. The rebels’ offensive also drove thousands of civilians from their homes, adding to an already enormous displacement crisis in the east.
The consequences go well beyond one city. The UN says several hundred thousand people had already been forced from their homes since the latest offensive began on Jan. 23, and more than 300,000 displaced people were cleared from camps around Goma in just a few hours. Aid agencies warned that the fighting would deepen one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. For Congo, the immediate issue is military control of territory. For the wider region, it is whether a border war can be prevented before the collapse around Goma becomes a much larger conflict.
The Security Council’s language and the regional summit both point to the same problem: there is a growing gap between diplomatic process and battlefield reality. By the time leaders sit down, civilians around Goma may already have fled, peacekeepers may already have been killed and transport routes may already have closed. That is why Congo’s warning about a declaration of war matters. It is not only about law or rhetoric. It is about whether the next escalation is still preventable.
That urgency is why Congo asked for sanctions and why the UN kept emphasizing sovereignty. The diplomatic language is not only meant to pressure Rwanda; it is also meant to stop a local offensive from becoming a wider regional war. If that fails, the fight over Goma may be remembered as the moment the crisis moved from contested borderlands to open interstate confrontation.
