M23 rebels act outside of the Rwanda-DRC peace accord
By Katie O'Malley | January 6, 2026
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MNN) — Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a peace accord on December 4. However, the troubles with the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 have not ended.
Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations explains that M23 is essentially a proxy army supported by Rwanda. However, “the M23 group also has an independent power structure,” he says. “And this peace agreement that was signed, M23 is saying, ‘Well, we’re not bound by that. That was between the DRC and Rwanda, so we can operate independently.’”
As if to underscore this, less than a week after the peace accord, M23 captured the strategic city of Uvira in the DRC’s South Kivu province. They allegedly abandoned it a week later after international condemnation of the move. However, this past New Year’s weekend, M23 clashed with the Congolese army again, just a few miles away from Uvira.
The cost of these latest militant operations is high. The Congolese government has accused the Rwandan-backed rebels of killing more than 1,500 civilians in eastern DRC since early December. More than 84,000 people have fled the DRC into neighboring Burundi since early December, too, according to the UN. Tens of thousands more have been displaced within the DRC. That’s on top of millions already forced from their homes in the past decades of conflict.
“Anytime you have that kind of displacement of mass humanity, it’s going to complicate gospel inroads, because people are leaving everything behind,” says Kelley.
Near the heart of the decades of conflict in the DRC are the country’s rich resources.
“These other countries — like Uganda, like Rwanda — they have been occupying the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the name of national security, while they’re conveniently extracting some of these natural resources,” says Kelley.
Please ask God to raise more gospel workers to bring the hope of Christ to people trapped in this conflict.
“We can pray that there ultimately becomes peace in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and that leaders would emerge who would come alongside these displaced people and encourage them in this time of difficulty,” says Kelley. “Because from an earthly perspective, they’re living in hell. Things are incredibly difficult and challenging. But they can find refuge in the message of the gospel.”
Learn more here about how Unknown Nations partners with indigenous believers for gospel ministry.
Header photo: Treasure audio Bible distribution in DRC. (Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)
Original Article Posted Here: https://www.mnnonline.org/news/m23-rebels-act-outside-of-the-rwanda-congo-peace-accord/