Late Jan 2025 – M23 rebels capture Goma, a major transport hub on Lake Kivu, before withdrawing later that month, marking a significant expansion of rebel control in North Kivu. [4]

Feb 2025 – M23 takes Bukavu, the South Kivu provincial capital, extending its hold over key mining towns and heightening regional instability. [4]

June 27, 2025 – The United States brokers a peace agreement between Rwanda and the DRC in Washington, pledging to end support for the FDLR and to open critical‑mineral trade, though the M23 rebels are excluded. [5]

Dec 4, 2025 – President Donald Trump hosts Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the U.S. Institute of Peace to sign the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, which Trump calls “settling a war that’s been going on for decades.” [10]

Dec 5, 2025 – Fighting erupts in South Kivu hours after the Accords signing, with artillery, drones and heavy bombardment reported; the AFC/M23 rebels deny being bound by the agreement and claim to have retaken Luberika. [7]

Dec 10, 2025 – M23 rebels enter the strategic port city of Uvira despite the cease‑fire, deploying heavy artillery; residents describe chaos as shops close and thousands flee toward Burundi. [3]

Dec 11, 2025 – M23 announces it has captured Uvira, a key Lake Tanganyika port, and Congo’s Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya says more than 100 civilians have been killed in the offensive. [6][9]

Dec 12, 2025 – U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz urges the Security Council to hold Rwanda accountable for allegedly providing “military and logistical support” to M23 since 2021. [5]

Dec 16, 2025 – AFC/M23 spokesperson Corneille Nangaa states the rebels will withdraw from Uvira at the request of the United States and calls for a neutral monitoring force. [2]

Dec 17, 2025 – M23 declares it will withdraw from Uvira under U.S. pressure, asking mediators to ensure the city’s protection and to pursue remilitarisation. [11][1]

Dec 18, 2025 – M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa says the withdrawal from Uvira “is underway,” and spokesman Willy Ngoma adds it is “for the sake of peace.” [1]

Dec 19, 2025 – The UN Security Council adopts a resolution extending MONUSCO’s mandate for one year, maintaining about 11,500 troops, and condemns the Rwanda‑backed M23 offensive. [12]

Dec 20, 2025 – The Council urges Rwanda to withdraw its forces, and U.S. Deputy Ambassador Jennifer Locetta demands M23 move at least 75 km away from Uvira; the UN notes the conflict has displaced over 7 million people. [8][12]

Late Dec 2025 (planned) – Qatar announces that a UN‑mandated MONUSCO mission will be deployed to Uvira in the coming days to enforce a cease‑fire, following a Doha declaration of principles. [13]

Jan 3, 2026 – Clashes erupt around Uvira as M23 fights pro‑Kinshasa militias and the Congolese army; simultaneous fighting in Masisi, North Kivu, leaves dozens dead and dozens wounded, with MSF reporting 42 injuries from an air strike. [11]

Feb 4, 2026 – M23 claims it destroyed a military drone command centre at Kisangani airport between Jan 31 and Feb 1, asserting that drone and mercenary use is “not exclusive to Kinshasa”; provincial officials report eight enemy drones intercepted with no casualties. [13]