Rwanda-backed M23 parades 7,000 recruits in Goma, casting doubt on Congo peace deal

A mass military parade by the M23 rebel group in the eastern Congolese city of Goma has raised fresh doubts about the viability of a peace deal expected to be signed in Washington in the coming weeks that hinges on Rwanda withdrawing support for the militia.

The rebels on Sunday marched more than 7,000 new recruits through Goma, the regional centre, according to local reports and statements from the group. The M23 said the recruits included Congolese soldiers who surrendered during this year’s fighting and members of local militias who fought alongside the rebels; rights groups have warned that some soldiers and young residents have been pressured to join.

The show of force comes as Doha-led mediation and subsequent negotiations brokered by Qatar and other mediators produced commitments from both Kinshasa and Kigali to end hostilities. A central plank of the accord expected to be formalized in Washington is the withdrawal of Rwandan support for M23 and the return of territories currently under rebel control to Congolese authorities.

United Nations experts have said M23 has been backed by thousands of troops from neighbouring Rwanda, an allegation Kigali denies. The U.N. human rights office has documented what it described as "horrific atrocities" in eastern Congo over the past year, including gang rape, sexual slavery, torture and killings of civilians, and has held both the Congolese armed forces and the M23 responsible.

The conflict has driven a humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with U.N. figures and relief agencies citing at least 3,000 killed and millions displaced. Sporadic clashes and accusations of ceasefire violations continue despite the mediation, and observers say the parade may signal preparations for renewed or sustained fighting rather than demobilization.

"(The parade) constitutes a form of materialization of an occupation that is taking root and increasingly taking the tacit form of a state within a state," said Christian Moleka, a Congo-based political analyst, reflecting concerns among some observers that the M23 is consolidating territorial control.

Residents in cities under rebel control said the parade deepened anxieties about the prospects for a stable peace. "We’ve just seen thousands of new M23 fighters again. We are losing hope," said Adeline Munene, 34, who spoke with reporters in Goma. "We thought the Washington and Doha agreements would bring peace. Now I’m disappointed."

Human rights organizations also warned that both sides have been strengthening their forces. Christian Rumu, a senior campaigner at Amnesty International, said the build-up suggested neither party was prepared to fully commit to a peaceful process. "So it means that, you know, they are not ready to go through the peaceful process," he said.

M23, composed largely of fighters from the Tutsi community who say they were excluded from integration into the Congolese army, mounted a rapid offensive earlier this year that captured key eastern cities including Goma and Bukavu after the national army retreated. The group was dormant for about a decade following a failed 2012 insurgency before resurfacing in 2022.

Diplomats and mediators have said the Washington agreement would seek clear timelines for withdrawal of external support, the cessation of hostilities, and the reestablishment of state authority over territories held by the rebels. Implementation details and verification mechanisms are expected to be central to whether the deal can translate into reduced violence on the ground.

For now, the spectacle of thousands of new fighters marching through Goma underscores the fragility of the negotiation process and the volatile conditions facing civilians in eastern Congo. International monitors, humanitarian agencies and mediators will be watching whether the parade presages further entrenchment of rebel control or proves temporary amid broader efforts to secure a political settlement.