[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”13px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”-25px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Corneille Nangaa, on 16 august 22: “The stability of Minembwe will extend all the way to Kalemie, Kolwezi, and Lubumbashi… Objective: advance and stabilize the areas of Fizi-Baraka, Uvira, Mwenga, Kalemie, Kolwezi, and Lubumbashi, until the supreme sacrifice if necessary.” | Image by Editor Generated with Gemini <\/p>\n
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Very interesting that international observers never visited Minembwe<\/strong> during the seven years when militias were attacking the Banyamulenge<\/strong>. Recently, when the government\u2014together with the Burundian army, mercenaries, and the FDLR\u2014gained the upper hand against Twirwanireho<\/strong>, bombing the area with Sukhoi jets and attack drones and killing, raping, looting, and stealing cattle from civilians in Minembwe, they still did not come. They only arrived after the AFC\/M23<\/strong> retook the area for the second time, as if waiting to see who was strongest on the ground. What cynicism.<\/strong> It paints a clear picture of what this international community values in the DRC: minerals, not people or social cohesion.<\/p>\n The deployment followed days of intense, closed-door negotiations in Switzerland from August 17 to August 21, where delegates from the Congolese government and the Alliance Fleuve Congo rebel umbrella\u2014which includes the March 23 Movement\u2014drafted a formal roadmap under the Qatari-mediated Doha process. Yet even as diplomats finalized negotiation schedules in European meeting rooms, military movements on the ground suggested that the rebellion’s strategic horizon was expanding far beyond the high plateaus of the Kivus toward the mineral heartland of Katanga.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Left-Corneille-Nanga-Right-Gen-Sultani-Makenga-1024×710.jpg” title_text=”Left Corneille Nanga, Right Gen Sultani Makenga……” _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Left: Corneille Nangaa (Left), with General Sultani Makenga<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”left” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The war pitching the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC)\/M23 alliance against the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s state coalition has evolved into a multi-layered regional proxy conflict. On one side, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) operate in tandem with the Burundian National Defence Force (FDNB), the Mercenaries (American, European and Latin America), local Wazalendo self-defense militias, and the genocidal Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) as the backbone of the coalition, after the SADC departure during the first weeks after the seizure of Goma by AFC\/M23. Facing them is the AFC\/M23 rebel movement, partnered with the Banyamulenge-aligned Twirwaneho militia.<\/p>\n Compounding this volatile mix is Kinshasa\u2019s deep reliance on private military contractors. Under a multi-hundred-million-dollar contractual arrangement linked to Blackwater founder Erik Prince through entities such as Frontier Services Group and Vectus Global, private security teams have established operational footprints stretching from southern mining hubs to staging grounds in Burundi and Uvira. Originally framed around securing copper and cobalt extraction in Katanga, these contractor operations have increasingly expanded to supervising government logistics, air defense support, and counter-drone operations along the border corridors of Lake Tanganyika.<\/p>\n The military balance shifted dramatically in early July 2026, when rebel forces launched a sweeping highland offensive across South Kivu. Between July 4 and July 6, joint units of Twirwaneho and AFC\/M23 overran Point Zero, a key mountain stronghold in Mwenga Territory\u2019s Itombwe sector that had long served as the primary forward operational base for FARDC and Burundian FDNB troops. Overwhelmed by high-altitude mortar barrages and coordinated infantry assaults, government coalition forces retreated, surrendering control of strategic plateaus that overlook crucial trade routes. Following the capture of Point Zero, rebel columns pressed their advantage along two major vectors, pushing westward across the forested interiors of Kalehe and Mwenga territories while driving southward along the Lake Tanganyika corridor toward Kalemie at the gateway to the former Katanga Province. Security forces in Kalemie immediately heightened alertness and launched cordons in response to growing fears that AFC\/M23 fighters were infiltrating Tanganyika Province to threaten southern transit routes.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/M23-AFC-has-graduated-more-than-9300-newly-trained-commandos-1024×681.jpeg” title_text=”M23-AFC has graduated more than 9,300 newly trained commandos” _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”13px” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n On July 20, 2026, the AFC\/M23 leadership hosted a major pass-out parade at their historical stronghold of Tchanzu in Rutshuru Territory, celebrating the graduation of over nine thousand newly trained commandos. Presided over by the movement’s military commander, General Sultani Makenga, the ceremony showcased battle-ready infantry units integrated into the Congolese Revolutionary Army, pushing the alliance\u2019s overall strength toward an estimated thirty five thousand combatants.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”left” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This southern and western expansion has been propelled by a massive escalation in rebel troop strength and military hardware. On July 20, 2026, the AFC\/M23 leadership hosted a major pass-out parade at their historical stronghold of Tchanzu in Rutshuru Territory, celebrating the graduation of over nine thousand newly trained commandos. Presided over by the movement’s military commander, General Sultani Makenga, the ceremony showcased battle-ready infantry units integrated into the Congolese Revolutionary Army, pushing the alliance\u2019s overall strength toward an estimated forty thousand combatants.<\/p>\n Tactically, combat in mid-2026 has been defined by high-tech warfare and heavy artillery encirclements. The FARDC has deployed Chinese-supplied CH-4 and Turkish TAI Anka combat drones\u2014serviced and guided with foreign contractor assistance\u2014to launch long-range strikes against rebel positions. In response, AFC\/M23 forces have deployed kamikaze strike drones alongside high-altitude mortar batteries to bombard government positions.<\/p>\n The political rationale behind this southern expansion expressed on August 16, 2026 during a commemoration meeting in Goma marking the 22nd anniversary of the Gatumba massacre. Addressing the gathering to solidify a united front between the political AFC, the military M23, the local Banyamulenge Twirwaneho militia, and aligned anti-Kinshasa groups, AFC leader Corneille Nangaa declared that the military campaign marked the beginning of a total refoundation of the Congolese state. Insisting that all communities\u2014not exclusively the Banyamulenge\u2014require complete security, Nangaa asserted in his own words that establishing lasting safety in the Kivus necessitates extending the frontline into the country’s southern economic core:<\/p>\n “The stability of Minembwe will extend all the way to Kalemie, Kolwezi, and Lubumbashi… Objective: advance and stabilize the areas of Fizi-Baraka, Uvira, Mwenga, Kalemie, Kolwezi, and Lubumbashi, until the supreme sacrifice if necessary.”<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Critical-Threat-Map-1.jpg” title_text=”Critical Threat Map 1″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Critical-Threat-Map-2.jpg” title_text=”Critical Threat Map 2″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”left” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n By explicitly linking local defense in the high plateaus to an advance toward Kalemie, Kolwezi, and Lubumbashi<\/strong>, Nangaa framed the push into Katanga as both an indispensable shield against future massacres and the military engine designed to rebuild the nation from the ground up.<\/p>\n Responding to what it characterizes as President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi\u2019s all-out militarist posture<\/em>, the AFC\/M23 alliance appears poised to push south toward Katanga, evidently if the Qatari-mediated Doha negotiations in Switzerland break down.<\/p>\n Underlying this military push toward the country’s economic heartland are profound economic interests and strategic security imperatives. For the AFC\/M23 alliance, advancing southward from the Ruzizi plains and the South Kivu highlands serves to sever FARDC supply corridors, encircle government garrisons, and gain direct leverage over the DRC’s most valuable industrial mining zones.<\/p>\n For Kinshasa, deploying state forces alongside private security contractors and FDLR is essential to safeguarding the copper, cobalt, and lithium hubs of Katanga, which generate the vast majority of state revenues required to sustain national defense operations. As state armies, private military advisors, and rebel commandos maneuver along the border of Tanganyika Province, the prospect of Katanga becoming the next active battleground threatens to transform a regional insurgency into a struggle over the economic engine of Central Africa.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When United Nations helicopters touched down in the fog-draped mountain enclave of Minembwe on August 24, 2026, they delivered international observers into the heart of a rapidly shifting theater of war. The flight marked the official operational launch of the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus, a regional oversight initiative designed to investigate artillery shelling, drone strikes, and mounting ceasefire violations across South Kivu. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":12563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1259],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security-2","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12220"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12616,"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12220\/revisions\/12616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tech-biz.today\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}