The March 23 Movement (French: Mouvement du 23 mars), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (Armée révolutionnaire du Congo), [8] is a Congolese Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo in a decades-long conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.

GOMA, Congo (AP) — M23 rebels seized the town of Minova in eastern Congo, a key supply route for the provincial capital Goma, authorities said Tuesday, leading to a mass exodus of people in the face of a new offensive by the rebel group, which has taken several strategic towns in recent weeks.

Jan 24, 2025 · Learn about the M23 armed group and its activities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Discover the origin, nature, and support behind this armed rebel group.

The M23 campaign is an ongoing series of military offensives launched by the March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since March 2022.

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — After Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took control of the biggest city in eastern Congo this week, the man who emerged from the shadows to assert his leadership was not the group’s long-time military leader.

Jan 31, 2025 · Some members of M23 and its broader political coalition have signaled that they seek regime change in Kinshasa, which is a threat that would expand the war far across the DRC. The conflict could become a full-blown regional war given Burundi’s current support for the DRC and Uganda’s alleged support for M23.

M23’s outspoken objective to protect Kinyarwanda speakers, which it says are threatened by Kinshasa, rhymes as much with Western clichés about ethnic wars as anti-Rwandan positions that leverage longstanding xenophobic conspiracy theories such as the “Hima-Tutsi empire”.

Jul 25, 2022 · The M23 armed group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo summarily killed at least 29 civilians since mid-June 2022 in areas under their control.

Mar 12, 2025 · The M23, or March 23 Movement, is a group of ethnic Tutsis of Congolese nationality who claim they need to take up arms to protect themselves against abuses by the Congolese state and militant Hutu groups.