M23 armed group 'will continue' beyond DR Congo city of Goma: Rwanda ambassador

The vandalized facade of the Rwandan Embassy is seen a day after an attack on the building during a demonstration against the escalating conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa, on January 29, 2025. [AFP]

The M23 armed group will likely seize more territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and even push further into the country, Rwanda's regional ambassador told AFP Wednesday.

"Goma cannot be an end on its own, unless in between they get good dialogue and negotiation with the government in Kinshasa, which I doubt," said Vincent Karega, Rwanda's ambassador-at-large for the Great Lakes region.

Having taken control of most of Goma, the regional capital of eastern DRC, the M23 armed group "will continue" into neighboring South Kivu province, Karega said.

International observers accuse Rwanda of militarily backing the M23, which it denies.

Asked if the group could push even further into the country, Karega said: "It's possible because all the (DRC) forces and military capabilities were concentrated in Goma. The rest of the country is not as protected as Goma was."

He said the eventual outcome could be either "power-sharing or full power-taking" by M23.

It was "possible" this could include M23 marching to the capital Kinshasa, he added, although experts believe the vast size of the DRC and the complex security dynamics make that unlikely.

"It's possible, especially that they are getting other associates... like the Alliance of Fleuve Congo or other Congolese aiming at overthrowing bad governance," said Karega, speaking by phone to AFP.

"For too many years, Congolese are being promised good governance. They haven't seen it, they don't even know what it looks like. When the current is too bad you may say let me trust the unknown, it may be better."

Karega was previously ambassador to the DRC but was expelled from the country in 2022 over accusations that Rwanda was backing the M23.