Key topics
- M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, captured Goma in a violent offensive.
- Corneille Nangaa claims M23 fights corruption and ethnic exclusion.
- A ceasefire collapsed, raising fears of further conflict in Congo.
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From The Economist, published under licence. The original article can be found on www.economist.com
© 2025 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved.
The Economist
It is not clear that a recent truce will hold ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Corneille Nangaa sits in an armchair in a five-star-hotel in Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and stretches out his hand. “Thank you for embracing the terrorists,” he jokes, to laughter from his entourage.
Mr Nangaa (pictured) is the head of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), the political arm of m23, an armed group led by Congolese Tutsis and backed by next-door Rwanda. Last week m23 rebels and Rwandan troops captured Goma after a rapid offensive that featured drones and heavy artillery that shattered Congolese defences. The un says at least 900 people were killed, though some estimates put the death toll closer to 3,000. The escalation in fighting risks sparking a regional war. The four other African armies that came to Congo’s aid also failed to repel the invaders.
But Mr Nangaa, who has become the public figurehead of m23, strikes a relaxed tone. “We want to wage a clean war,” he insists, explaining that m23 pushed into Goma after years of laying siege to it because of attacks from Congolese forces and their allies around the city.
The group has made dramatic advances in Congo’s North Kivu province since re-emerging as a force in late 2021. It has repeatedly denied receiving support from Rwanda. And the government in Kigali equivocates about its support for the rebels. But no one seriously doubts its role.
Rwanda may have as many as 4,000 troops inside Congo, helping m23, according to a un panel of experts. Since the fall of Goma, the un has become more blunt, accusing Rwanda of deploying soldiers to help capture the city of over two million people. On February 3rd Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, told a reporter, implausibly, that he did not know whether his soldiers were in Congo.
Mr Nangaa claims that m23’s fight is a local one. “Our vocation is the absence of the state,” he explains. “We are Congolese and we have problems and demands that are Congolese.” These include, he says, ending the corrupt rule of Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi, his repression of the political opposition, and above all, the exclusion of some ethnic communities, especially the Tutsis. Mr Nangaa (who is not a Tutsi) has vowed to go as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, in pursuit of these aims: “The cause is such that our young people may advance until the last drop of blood.”
On the ground in eastern Congo, the conflict might yet expand. There are fears the rebels will march further into neighbouring South Kivu province and capture or besiege the city of Bukavu. Mr Nangaa would not comment, but said that if military attacks keep originating from Bukavu’s airport, m23 would “silence the guns there”. Burundian forces in the province also pose a threat, he said.
On February 3rd, the rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire, but it seems to have rapidly broken down. m23 has long pushed for direct talks with the Congolese government, but the government in Kinshasa has always rejected the prospect. Now, in an ominous sign, Mr Nangaa casts doubt on the very possibility of negotiations. “There are lots of preconditions,” he said, without naming any. “How can you place your trust in a crook like Tshisekedi?”
Sharp, and surprisingly jolly for an internationally sanctioned rebel threatening regional chaos, Mr Nangaa offers to exchange phone numbers. “Everyone’s afraid to call me,” he says, to more laughter.
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