M23 and FARDC trade drone strikes near Goma as the ceasefire frays
FARDC drones hit an M23 position five miles north of Goma; M23 and Wazalendo militias clash along the Masisi-Walikale border — both sides building up troops in the Kivus despite the US-brokered truce
Summary
Fighting persisted across the Kivus in June 2026 despite the US-brokered Washington truce and the M23-Congo Doha track. On 2 June Fardc drones struck an M23 position in Kibati, about five miles north of Goma. Through mid-June M23 clashed with pro-government Wazalendo militias along the Masisi-Walikale district border in North Kivu; Wazalendo fighters repelled an M23 push near Buhimba on 13 June, after which M23 drone-bombed positions in Kinyumba and Lwibo. M23 has framed earlier moves — including its December exit from Uvira — as pullbacks under pressure. But both the Congolese government and M23 are reportedly building up troops in North and South Kivu, suggesting the truce is holding on paper while the front rearms.
By the numbers
- 2 June 2026 — FARDC drone strike on Kibati, ~5 miles north of Goma.
- 13 June — Wazalendo repel M23 at Buhimba; M23 drone-bombs Kinyumba and Lwibo.
- Dec 2025 — M23 exits Uvira amid the stuttering US-brokered ceasefire.
- 7M+ — people displaced by the wider eastern-DRC crisis (UN estimates).
- 2 — parallel peace tracks (Washington state-to-state; Doha with M23).
Why it matters
The drone exchanges show the ceasefire has frozen no front line — it has bought time both sides are using to rearm. Continued M23-Wazalendo fighting around Goma and the troop buildup in the Kivus keep Rwanda-backed M23 and Fardc one incident away from renewed open war, undercutting the Washington and Doha diplomacy.
What to watch
- Whether the troop buildup tips into a new offensive on Goma or Bukavu.
- Drone-warfare escalation as both sides field UAVs.
- Wazalendo militias' role and FARDC's reliance on them.
- The MONUSCO drawdown timeline and any security vacuum it leaves.