Unchecked, DRC conflict could degenerate to Third Congo War

Members of the M23 armed group sit on a pickup truck during a patrol as women carrying fruits walk past a market, following the takeover of the city by the M23 movement in Bukavu on February 18, 2025. [AFP]

The Great Lakes region has been facing successive conflicts rooted in complex dynamics, plunging the region into an unprecedented political, security and humanitarian crisis and uncertainty.

The current March 23 Movement (M23) offensive in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has placed several states in the Great Lakes Region on a trajectory of instability, war and potential destruction.