M23 pushes Wazalendo out of Kamakombe in South Kivu fighting

# M23 pushes Wazalendo out of Kamakombe in South Kivu fighting

On 2025-07-30, violent fighting in Kamakombe, in Kabare Territory of South Kivu, ended with the AFC/M23 coalition and its RDF ally forcing a Wazalendo faction out of the village, according to Radio Okapi. The report says the confrontation began a day earlier in nearby Mbayo, in the Bugorhe groupement, after M23 troops were reinforced from Kavumu airport.

The local reporting identifies the Wazalendo force as the Mouvement décisif de la libération du Congo, also referred to as MDLC/RRADRDC. It says the M23 coalition launched an offensive against that faction after concentrating troops in the area. By Wednesday morning, the rebels had taken the step of expelling the rival group from Kamakombe.

The source presents the episode as part of a broader cycle of violations in eastern Congo. It says the fighting broke out despite the ceasefire commitments tied to the Doha principle agreement between the Congolese government and the M23-AFC-RDF coalition. The report does not provide a casualty figure, and it does not quote the armed groups directly.

What stands out is the sequence. First came reinforcement from Kavumu, then attacks in Mbayo, then a wider battle around Kamakombe. That progression suggests a deliberate push rather than a spontaneous skirmish. Radio Okapi relied on local sources and civil society representatives, who said the expulsion had been completed after a day of attack and counterattack.

The report also matters because it places the clash inside a sensitive political moment. The July 30 fighting happened while the Doha talks remained the main diplomatic frame for Congo's conflict in the east. In that context, the Kamakombe episode reads less like a local turf war and more like evidence that the ceasefire language was not being respected on the ground.

Even so, the available evidence is limited to one readable source. The report does not say how many fighters were involved, whether any civilians were injured, or whether the village changed hands again later in the day. It also does not include a government military response.

Still, the basic facts are clear enough for a routine news account: the M23 coalition fought in Kabare Territory, moved from Mbayo into Kamakombe, and by the morning of July 30 had driven out a Wazalendo-linked rival group. The source says that action was another sign of how fragile the eastern Congo ceasefire remained in practice.

For residents of Kamakombe and surrounding villages, the significance was immediate. The fighting forced another local population to absorb the costs of a conflict in which armed groups continue to contest terrain, routes and authority despite formal peace efforts.