Mapping the human toll of the conflict in DR Congo

EXPLAINER

One of the biggest displacement and humanitarian crises in history is affecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

At least 7, 000 people have been killed in recent months, and many more have been injured as a result of ongoing violence and instability, which has forced millions of people to flee their homes.

Armed groups, particularly M23 rebels, have stepped up their offensive in eastern DRC, which has largely contributed to the violence this year.

M23 seized control of Goma, the capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu province, in January, before capturing Bukavu, the capital of neighboring South Kivu, in February. Since then, they have advanced west.

The M23 are who?

Former Congolese soldiers, primarily from the Tutsi ethnic group, founded the M23 rebel group in 2012.

The March 23 Movement, which refers to the date that the DRC’s government and the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) signed peace agreements in 2009 that aimed at integrating its fighters into the Congolese army, is where the group’s name comes from.

However, M23 later claimed that the government had violated the agreement and that this had caused them to rebel.

M23 briefly seized Goma’s upper hand in November 2012, but it was overrun and forced into exile in 2013. The organization reappeared in late 2021 after almost ten years of waning and has since launched a military campaign in the eastern DRC.

UN experts claim that Rwanda supports M23 with weapons and troops. Kigali, however, refutes the accusations.

Rapid advance by M23 rebels

After peace negotiations between the presidents of the DRC and Rwanda were postponed due to disagreements over M23, conflict erupted in December 2024. The Congolese government at the time opposed the direct dialogue between the DRC and M23.

On January 27, 2025, M23 fighters seized control of Goma, the country’s largest city, in the worst escalation in a decade or more. Goma is a major humanitarian hub close to the Rwandan border and home to more than 2 million people.
• February 16, 2025: M23 captures Bukavu. The rebels seized control of the city center, as Rwandans claimed Rwanda omitted ceasefire requests.
• The rebels seized Walikale on March 19, 2025, in the farthest west they have ever reached, rejecting calls for a ceasefire from the DRC and Rwanda. In a peaceful gesture, they later said they would leave the town.

displaced by more than 7 million people.

One of the largest populations of displaced people in the world is found in the DRC.

In the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, there are more than 7 million displaced people, of which 3.8 million are people.

Between November 2024 and January 2025, nearly 780, 000 people were forced to leave their homes alone.

Since January 1, more than 100 000 refugees have crossed into neighboring nations, with 69 000 seeking refuge in Burundi, 29 000 in Uganda, and about 1, 000 in Rwanda and Tanzania, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

A quarter of the nation is experiencing a food shortage.

Moving restrictions and movement restrictions thwart aid delivery to those in urgent need in Goma, a crucial humanitarian hub, which remains extremely volatile.

There are approximately 112 million people living in the DRC. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the UN estimates that 21 million people in the nation already needed humanitarian aid, which is the highest figure ever.

By the end of 2024, 25.6 million people, or nearly a quarter of the population, were suffering from acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or worse) as a result of armed conflicts, rising food prices, and epidemics.

Before the most recent escalation, 2.7 million people in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri were already dealing with a severe food shortage, according to OCHA.