Explainer
Continuing violence and instability, including combat by the M23 rebels, forced millions to flee their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing one of the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crises.
Continuing violence and instability forced millions to flee their homes. At least 7,000 people have been killed and many more have been injured in recent months.
This year’s violence has been driven primarily by armed groups, particularly M23 rebels who have intensified attacks in the Eastern DRC.
In January, M23 seized control of Sesama, the capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu province, before capturing Bukabu, the capital of the nearby South Kivu in February. They have been moving west ever since.
Who is the M23?
The M23 Rebel Group was founded in 2012 by former Congolese soldiers, primarily from Tutsi ethnic groups.
The group took its name from the March 23 movement and was signed in 2009 between the DRC government and the National Congress of the National Congress (CNDP), which aimed to integrate its fighter jets into the Congolese army.
However, M23 later accused the government of failing to fully implement the contract, leading them to launch the rebellion.
The M23 temporarily seized Goma’s control in November 2012, but was defeated in 2013 and forced into exile.
According to UN experts, Rwanda supports the M23 with its military and ammunition. However, Kigali denies the accusation.
Rapid advance of the M23 Rebels
The latest round of conflict escalated in December 2024 after peace talks in Angola between the DRC president and Rwanda were cancelled over disagreements over the M23. Rwanda had insisted on a direct dialogue between the DRC and the M23.
January 27, 2025 – M23 captures Goma: In the worst escalation in over a decade, the M23 fighter jets ruled Goma, the largest city in the eastern DRC. Goma is an important humanitarian hub near the Rwandan border and homes for over 2 million people. February 16, 2025 – M23 will take a picture of the bukabu. March 19, 2025 – M23 captures the warikal: The rebels seized the mining hub warikal in North Kivu, the farthest west they have ever reached, and rejected calls for a ceasefire from the DRC and Rwanda. They later said they would withdraw from the town with a gesture of peace.
Over 7 million people have evacuated
The DRC has one of the largest populations of displaced people around the world.
Over 7 million people have evacuated. This includes 3.8 million people in the north and south Kivu provinces of the country in the east.
Nearly 780,000 people were forced to flee their homes between November 2024 and January 2025 alone.
The United Nations Refugee Agency said that since January 1, more than 100,000 refugees have travelled to neighbouring countries, with 69,000 people evacuated to Burundi, seeking 29,000 in Uganda and around 1,000 in Rwanda and Tanzania.
A quarter of the country faces food shortages
The security situation at Goma, a major humanitarian hub, remains extremely unstable, with movement restrictions that prevent the provision of assistance to emergency people.
The population of DRC is approximately 112 million. Before the latest escalation, 21 million people across the country were already in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN’s Humanitarian Coordination Agency (OCHA).
By the end of 2024, armed conflict, rising food prices and epidemics had driven 25.6 million people (nearly a quarter of the population) into acute food insecurity (below IPC phase 3).
According to OCHA, 2.7 million people in North Kibv, South Kibv and Ituri were already facing severe food shortages before the latest escalation.
The looting of humanitarian infrastructure and warehouses has further crippled relief efforts as the loss of large quantities of food, medicine and medical supplies in targeted attacks on humanitarian organisations.
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