# Rebels advance toward Butembo as eastern Congo front widens

*Event date: 2025-02-18*

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels were reported advancing toward the city of Butembo in eastern Congo on 2025-02-18, while also capturing Kamanyola farther south, widening the front around the mineral-rich region.

According to AP, fighters attacked main Congolese army positions on the road to Butembo, a city of about 150,000 people. Residents and civil society figures described the situation as deteriorating quickly. The advance followed the rebels’ seizure of Goma, the larger city to the south, and Bukavu, which deepened fears that the armed group was spanning both sides of the key corridor around Lake Kivu.

The movement matters because it shows the conflict is no longer contained to a single flashpoint. Butembo lies roughly 210 kilometers north of Goma, and Kamanyola is about 25 kilometers south of Bukavu. Taken together, the two directions of advance suggest a widening operational pattern rather than an isolated clash.

AP said M23 also captured Kamanyola after overcoming Congolese resistance, and local representatives worried the group could press onward toward Uvira, another strategic city farther south. That concern was echoed by people on the ground who feared a repeat of the destruction and loss of life already seen in Goma.

The eastern Congo conflict is not just a local security story. The AP report emphasized the region’s mineral wealth, including gold and coltan, which are central to global technology supply chains. That helps explain why the fighting draws international attention: the territory is not only strategically important in military terms, but economically significant well beyond the DRC’s borders.

The report also noted that M23 is one of more than 100 armed groups active in the region and that U.N. experts have said the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda denies the broader accusations and says it is acting to protect national security and Tutsi communities. Those competing narratives remain part of the conflict, but the immediate story on this date was the rebels’ forward momentum and the growing fear of escalation.

International pressure was rising at the same time. The U.K. Foreign Office summoned the Rwandan ambassador and condemned the rebel gains as an unacceptable violation of Congo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The U.N. human rights chief also accused the Rwanda-backed rebels of killing children and attacking hospitals and aid warehouses after entering Bukavu.

The accumulation of battlefield gains and diplomatic pressure left eastern Congo in a precarious position. Residents along the routes toward Butembo and Uvira were watching for the next move, while the region’s already severe humanitarian crisis threatened to deepen further.

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  • M23 attacked positions on the road to Butembo and appeared to be advancing toward a third major city: AP (3544)
  • M23 captured Kamanyola and residents feared a push toward Uvira: AP (3544)
  • The conflict is unfolding in a mineral-rich region important to global technology supply chains: AP (3544)
  • The U.K. condemned the rebel gains and the U.N. rights chief accused M23 of abuses: AP (3544)