M23 Rebels Near Third Congo City

Fear is gripping eastern Congo as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels push toward Butembo a bustling city of over 150000 people. Reports from NBC on February 19 2025 reveal the militants attacked Congolese army posts along the road to Butembo on Tuesday sparking panic among residents. This move follows their capture of Goma and Bukavu two key urban centers in a mineral-rich region vital to global tech supply chains. International alarm is mounting over the rebels’ rapid advance with the U.K. condemning Rwanda’s role and urging troop withdrawal. The conflict threatens to deepen an already dire humanitarian crisis.

The M23’s latest push isn’t out of nowhere. Born from ethnic tensions after Rwanda’s 1994 genocide the group claims to protect Tutsi minorities in Congo. Yet experts say their real aim is power and plunder backed by about 4000 Rwandan troops per U.N. findings. They’ve already seized Goma a city of 2 million last month killing roughly 3000 in the process. Then came Bukavu to the south near Burundi. Now Butembo 130 miles north of Goma is in their sights. Residents like civil servant Kambale Nyuliro told reporters they dread a repeat of Goma’s bloodshed.

Why Butembo? It’s strategic. Sitting in North Kivu province it’s a trade hub near Uganda surrounded by fertile land and mineral deposits. Controlling it would tighten M23’s grip on eastern Congo’s wealth from cobalt to gold fueling everything from phones to electric cars. Analysts note the rebels aren’t just looting. They’re setting up governance in captured cities hinting at long-term ambitions. Leader Corneille Nangaa has boasted of marching to Kinshasa over 1000 miles away. For now though locals say Lubero town en route to Butembo is nearly encircled.

The human toll is staggering. Over 6 million are displaced across eastern Congo the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis per U.N. data. Goma’s fall saw camps of 800000 empty out as people fled. Bukavu’s takeover this week reportedly included child executions by M23 a charge the U.N. is probing. In Kitsombiro near Butembo civil leader Auguste Kombi told NBC the situation is crumbling fast. Families can’t escape the violence. Aid groups warn of starvation and disease if fighting cuts off supply lines again.

Rwanda’s hand in this mess is under fire. President Paul Kagame denies direct involvement but U.N. experts say his forces give M23 weapons and manpower. Congo accuses Rwanda of using the rebels to steal its resources a claim echoing decades of border strife. The U.K. summoned Rwanda’s ambassador Tuesday blasting the “unacceptable violation” of Congo’s sovereignty. No response from Kigali yet. Meanwhile Uganda’s sent troops to Bunia another Congo city fearing spillover. The region’s stability hangs by a thread.

Global stakes are rising. Eastern Congo’s minerals power tech giants yet this war could choke those supplies. The U.S. and Europe have called for peace but critics say their words lack teeth. Sanctions on Rwanda stalled as Western ties with Kagame a key regional ally complicate action. At home Congo’s army is outmatched plagued by corruption and low morale. President Felix Tshisekedi has urged youth to enlist vowing to resist. But with M23 advancing his options are thinning fast.

Resistance isn’t stopping the rebels. In Bukavu they brushed off Congolese and Burundian troops taking a second provincial capital. Now in North Kivu they’re hitting hard along the N2 highway. Posts on X show M23 strolling into towns like Wimbi with little fight. Some locals allegedly welcome them tired of Kinshasa’s neglect. Others see no choice but to bow to the stronger force. Either way the rebels’ momentum suggests Butembo could fall soon unless a miracle shifts the tide.

This isn’t 2012 when M23 briefly held Goma before fading. Today they’re bolder better armed and eyeing a wider prize. Diplomacy’s failing. A Tanzania summit this month got nowhere. The U.N.’s human rights chief decried M23 atrocities but peacekeeping cuts leave Congo exposed. For Butembo’s people prayer and flight are all that’s left. If the city falls expect louder cries for justice and fears of a full-blown regional war. Congo’s future and millions of lives are on the line.