March 23 Movement — De Facto Map

March 23 Movement — Rebel movement · Eastern DR Congo · Backed by Rwanda.

The March 23 Movement, fighting under the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23). It took Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu a month later, and governs the ground it holds: appointed territorial chiefs, a "mayor" of Goma, and its own taxes since April 2026. UN reporting places the Rwanda Defence Force beside it in the fighting. In December 2025 it took Uvira on the Burundian border, then announced its withdrawal in January under international pressure; in January and February 2026 it claimed drone attacks on Kisangani airport, its first outside the Kivus. It pulled back from the Lubero front in March and from most of the Ruzizi plain in May, but by September 2026 it was pushing west through Masisi towards Walikale and Pinga.