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DR CONGO · SECURITY

The Congolese army has thrown its air force into the battle for the hills between Masisi and Walikale, bombing rebel positions on Tuesday evening after a week of escalating ground combat. The rebels are reported to be holding their ground — and bringing in reinforcements.

A soldier of the Congolese armed forces, the FARDC, during jungle training in North Kivu. The army has now deployed its air force along the Masisi–Walikale frontier. (Photo: MONUSCO Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

What happened on Tuesday evening

At around 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, aircraft of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo — known by their French initials, FARDC — struck positions held by the AFC/M23 rebellion at Malemo, in the Bashali Mokoto groupement of Masisi territory, and at Luola, in the Kisimba groupement of neighbouring Walikale territory, according to local sources cited by Actualité.cd.

Residents reported loud detonations across the area, causing acute anxiety among civilians. The strikes came after the rebels reinforced their positions along this strategic frontier with new fighters and ammunition. As of Wednesday, no reliable casualty toll was available, and the same sources said the rebels remained in the targeted positions.

After the bombardment, reinforcement movements were observed around Malemo and toward Ihula, in the Balindu locality of Walikale. Local sources told Actualité.cd the movements could be preparation for a broader offensive along the Malemo–Mindjendje and Luola–Mpety axes, with the presumed objective of advancing toward Pinga, a strategic town in Walikale.

A frontier that has been burning for a week

Tuesday’s airstrikes did not come out of nowhere. The army, fighting alongside pro-government militias known as the wazalendo — Swahili for “patriots” — had already been trying for days to retake Luola and a nearby hilltop position from the rebels, with heavy and light weapons fire reported since at least September 2.

Over the weekend the fighting spread. Radio Okapi, the UN-backed broadcaster, reported intense clashes around Kibundi and Mwima that drove residents of at least eight villages to flee toward Ntoto. Local notables also reported bombardments attributed to the AFC/M23 around Mindjendje, about ten kilometres from Pinga, in which government positions on the Katobi, Burayi and Malemo hills were hit and loyalist forces pulled back toward Mpeti.

Displaced families who reached areas judged safer are now waiting to see which way the battle turns, Radio Okapi reported.

Who is who on this front

The FARDC is the national army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Against it stands the AFC/M23: the March 23 Movement, a Tutsi-led rebellion that reignited in 2021, now fighting under the umbrella of the Congo River Alliance (Alliance Fleuve Congo, AFC). United Nations experts and several Western governments say the rebels are backed by neighbouring Rwanda, which Kigali denies. The wazalendo are a patchwork of local self-defence militias fighting on the government side.

The AFC/M23 seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in early 2025 and still holds it. The Masisi–Walikale frontier lies to the west and northwest of the city, and control of its hilltop villages decides who commands the roads toward the mineral-rich interior.

The Doha framework, under strain

In July 2025 the Congolese government and the AFC/M23 signed a declaration of principles in Doha, Qatar, meant to lead to a ceasefire and a broader peace deal. Fighting never fully stopped, and each side routinely accuses the other of violating the framework. A week of escalation around Masisi and Walikale, now including airstrikes, is the heaviest strain on the Doha track in months.

We reported on August 30 on the government’s counteroffensive on the Kavumu–Kalehe road in South Kivu, the neighbouring province. The new air campaign at the Masisi–Walikale line suggests the army is now trying to stretch the rebellion on two fronts at once — while the rebels, for their part, are signalling that they intend to push west toward Pinga rather than dig in.

This report is based on Actualité.cd’s September 9 dispatch from the Masisi–Walikale frontier, Radio Okapi’s reporting on the weekend escalation and displacement, and background on the Doha process from Anadolu Agency and UN coverage.

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