Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said on January 30, 2025, that they intend to take their rebellion beyond eastern Congo and challenge the government in Kinshasa, a dramatic escalation in a conflict that has already devastated the country’s east.
At a news conference in Goma, rebel political leader Corneille Nangaa said the group wants to “go to Kinshasa, take power and lead the country,” according to AP’s reporting in the evidence packet. The statement followed the rebels’ capture of eastern Congo’s largest city and their claims to control surrounding territory as well.
The declaration came alongside a hardline response from the Congolese government. Defense Minister Guy Kabombo Muadiamvita said in a video message that any dialogue with the rebels should be “completely burned immediately.” He also framed the struggle in existential terms, saying Congo would stay and fight rather than surrender territory or negotiate from weakness.
President Félix Tshisekedi called for a major military mobilization and urged young people to enlist. In his first public remarks since the rebels advanced into Goma, he promised a “vigorous and coordinated response” while also saying he remained committed to a peaceful resolution. The mixed message reflects the pressure on Kinshasa to resist the rebels without appearing to close off every diplomatic option.
The conflict has become far more dangerous because of the scale of Rwanda’s alleged support. AP cites U.N. experts saying the M23 is backed by about 4,000 Rwandan troops, far more than during the group’s previous advance in 2012. Rwanda denies or disputes many accusations, but regional leaders and U.N. officials continue to warn that the fighting could widen.
The humanitarian consequences are already severe. Goma was largely without electricity and water, while residents faced bodies in the streets and the movement of thousands of surrendered soldiers and police. AP reported that basic services in the city were effectively paralyzed and that the humanitarian system serving more than 6 million displaced people was under extreme strain.
The scale of the violence also matters because eastern Congo is rich in minerals critical to global technology supply chains. That economic backdrop has long made the conflict harder to resolve, with armed groups, neighboring states and local power brokers all tied to the region’s resources and insecurity.
The AP report notes that Congo’s leaders have resisted the idea that the rebels should be brought into political negotiations without first reversing their gains. For Tshisekedi’s government, talks now risk being read as surrender. For the rebels, the announcement in Goma was a statement that they no longer see themselves as a local insurgency.
That leaves the region facing a dangerous next phase. If the rebels truly aim to move west, the conflict could stretch the Congolese army and test neighboring governments that are trying to manage the crisis through mediation. If they cannot advance, the fighting may harden into another drawn-out contest over control of the east.
Either way, the message from Goma was unmistakable: the M23 wants more than territory. It wants political power at the center of the Congolese state, and the government in Kinshasa says it is preparing to stop them.
