A confidential United Nations report has concluded that Rwanda maintains command and control over the M23 rebel group during its operations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, leveraging this influence to gain political advantage and access to mineral-rich territories.
According to the report, which was obtained by Reuters and submitted to the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions committee on the DRC in early May, Rwanda has been training M23 recruits and supplying military equipment — including “high-tech systems capable of neutralizing air assets” — giving the group a “decisive tactical advantage” over Congo’s national army.
M23 forces launched major offensives earlier this year, capturing the two largest cities in eastern Congo Goma and Bukavu in January and February. While the DRC government, United Nations, and several Western nations have accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels with troops and weaponry, Kigali continues to deny these claims. Rwanda insists its military actions are defensive, targeting armed Hutu groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which it links to perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
However, the UN experts’ report challenges that narrative, stating that Rwanda’s military backing of M23 is “not primarily” intended to counter threats from the FDLR. Instead, the report asserts, “Kigali is focused on conquering additional territories.”
Rwandan government officials and its mission to the UN did not respond to requests for comment.
The United States, under former President Donald Trump’s administration, has been attempting to broker a peace agreement between Rwanda and Congo, with promises of substantial Western investment in a region endowed with strategic minerals such as tantalum, cobalt, lithium, gold, and copper.
On Friday, in Washington, D.C., the foreign ministers of both countries signed a peace agreement and met with Trump, who warned of “very severe penalties, financial and otherwise,” should either party violate the accord. Meanwhile, Qatar is hosting a parallel mediation process involving Congolese officials and M23 representatives.
The UN report outlines that Rwanda has hosted leaders of a broader rebel coalition — which includes M23 — at its Gabiro Training Centre and trained M23 fighters at military bases in Nasho and Gako. It further alleges that Rwanda significantly increased its troop presence in eastern Congo ahead of the M23 advances, estimating that around 6,000 Rwandan soldiers were deployed across North and South Kivu provinces.
In addition, the experts accuse Rwanda of “flagrant and systematic violations” of the UN arms embargo, and cite evidence suggesting a deadly missile attack in January — which killed one UN peacekeeper and injured four — likely originated from a Rwandan military position.
As of April 20, when the report’s investigations concluded, between 1,000 and 1,500 Rwandan soldiers were said to remain in M23-controlled areas, with “several thousand” more positioned near the border, ready to deploy.
Growing Concerns and Regional Instability
The military escalation earlier this year raised concerns about a potential broader regional conflict involving Congo’s neighbors and intensified scrutiny of President Félix Tshisekedi’s administration.
In March, M23 forces advanced westward as far as Walikale, a strategically vital zone rich in tin, placing them just 400 kilometers from Kisangani, the country’s fourth-largest city. The rebels later retreated from the area in April, a move which, according to the report, “was taken following direct instruction from the Government of Rwanda,” reinforcing Rwanda’s operational command over M23.
“This included strategic-level decision-making on whether to seize, hold, or relinquish territory, thereby demonstrating overall operational coordination and hierarchical subordination,” the experts noted.
The report also criticized the Congolese government for collaborating with the FDLR and arming local militia fighters known as the Wazalendo. The experts claim Kinshasa provided these groups with logistical support and financial incentives, actions that contravene existing UN sanctions.
A spokesperson for the DRC government did not immediately provide comment.
This report, once formally released, is expected to intensify international calls for accountability and diplomatic resolution to the protracted conflict destabilizing eastern Congo and its neighboring states.
