War in Eastern Congo : M23 rebels extend their zones of control over South Kivu
M23 rebels seized the town of Minova, located in the province of South Kivu, on Tuesday. With a population of 65,000, Minova remained the main supply route for the provincial capital of North Kivu, Goma, a city of nearly 2 million inhabitants that is also the largest in eastern Congo.
INFO SOS Médias Burundi
It was with less effort that the town of Minova was recaptured by the M23, according to local sources.
“M23 rebels control Minova. They held a meeting with the local population in the morning. They asked the population to continue to go about their business,” a Minova resident told SOS Médias Burundi on Tuesday afternoon.
According to this resident, the rebels told local traders “not to close their businesses.”
“We have our own means. Keep working and what we need, we will buy from you. We will not loot you. You must be reassured,” said an M23 commander, according to a resident who participated in his meeting.
According to witnesses, the locality of Kalungu located eight kilometers from Minova towards the city of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu, has also fallen into the hands of the rebels.
Several residents fled to the city of Goma, taking boats on Lake Kivu where accidents have become commonplace in recent times.
Jérémie Meya, a spokesman for the Congolese army in South Kivu, asked the population to “remain loyally attached to the loyalist forces while they reorganize to repel the enemy.”
“The command of the Sokola 2 operational sector in North-South Kivu asks the population threatened by the M23 hostilities in the northern part of the South Kivu province to remain loyally attached to the regular forces, not to give in to panic and the demoralizing campaigns of the enemy and its allies, which are intended to undermine the morale of the Congolese,” announced in an audio and written message intended for the local press, under- lieutenant Jérémie Meya, Tuesday afternoon.

M23 rebels entering the town of Minova, January 21, 2025, DR
Last weekend, M23 rebels took control of the mining town of Lumbishi, located in the territory of Kalehe in South Kivu.
Withdrawal of Burundian soldiers
The FDNB (Burundi National Defense Force) sent soldiers to fight alongside the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) and its allied militias against the M23 in North Kivu and to dislodge Burundian rebels based in South Kivu.
On Tuesday, Burundian military sources confirmed that the FDNB soldiers received orders to retreat towards the city of Bukavu, for those who are in North Kivu at a time when the battalions based in South Kivu headed towards Kavumu airport, more than 25 kilometers from Bukavu.
“They are securing Kavumu airport in collaboration with FARDC elements,” said a resident of the area.
The areas occupied by Burundian soldiers in North Kivu have recently been the subject of bloody attacks. The majority of Burundian soldiers had already moved to localities and territories in South Kivu that were invaded by the M23, including Minova.
“Several Burundian and Congolese soldiers were seen fleeing on board transport buses,” a resident told SOS Médias Burundi. Already a few days ago, the Burundian army had begun to make permutations, sending to North Kivu a large part of its troops based in South Kivu. Their posts are currently occupied by new recruits from the FDNB.
“Some of these new soldiers do not even know how to handle a weapon well,” said a fighter close to the Kinshasa coalition.
In a separate statement, the FARDC general staff confirmed the fall of Bweremana in North Kivu and Minova, claiming at the same time to have inflicted enormous losses on the rebellion in recent times.
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A woman and her little girl who fled the recent hostilities between the FARDC and the M23 in North Kivu were welcomed into a camp for displaced persons, December 2024 (SOS Médias Burundi)
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