For the first time since rebel forces took control of Goma, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo, Bintou Keita, met face-to-face with the leaders of M23 rebels on Friday in the contested eastern city.
The meeting centered on the future role of the U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, with particular focus on civilian protection, according to a statement posted on X by the mission.
Keita sat down with Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition that includes M23, alongside other faction representatives. The talks, held under heightened tension, were described as a step toward dialogue.
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“The rebel leaders expressed their willingness to find a peaceful solution to the crisis,” Keita said after the meeting.
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Eastern Congo’s turmoil, rooted in decades of conflict, sharply escalated earlier this year. In January, M23, a group allegedly supported by Rwanda, seized control of Goma, a strategic hub in North Kivu province. The group then expanded its reach, capturing Bukavu in February.
While a tentative agreement between Congo’s military and M23 aimed to de-escalate tensions in April, hostilities have not ceased. Instead, reports of serious abuses in rebel-held zones have surfaced.
Amnesty International, in a May report, accused M23 fighters of executing, torturing, and disappearing civilians in areas under their control, including Goma and Bukavu, raising alarm over possible war crimes.
M23 is just one of approximately 100 armed groups operating in the mineral-rich but volatile eastern region, where power struggles, ethnic rivalries, and foreign interference have combined to drive one of the world’s largest displacement crises. Over 7 million people have been uprooted by the conflict, including 100,000 this year alone.
U.N. investigators say M23 benefits from the support of an estimated 4,000 Rwandan troops. At times, rebel commanders have threatened to march on Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, located some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) away.
The U.N. peacekeeping presence in Congo began in 2010, when MONUSCO replaced an earlier mission tasked with protecting civilians, supporting aid efforts, and aiding Congo’s fragile state institutions. But public frustration with the mission has grown in recent years.
Many Congolese accuse MONUSCO of failing to protect them, especially in the face of brutal attacks by rebel groups. Protests against the mission have turned violent on multiple occasions, fueled by resentment and disillusionment.
In response to mounting pressure, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously in 2023 to begin scaling down the peacekeeping presence. Under the phased withdrawal plan, MONUSCO handed over responsibility for South Kivu to Congolese authorities last year.
Reactions to Keita’s visit were divided among residents in Goma, where expectations for peace remain low.
“She’s here to carry out interventions where insecurity reigns in the country, and that’s why, in my opinion, her presence in the city of Goma will change many things,” Abiba Kasole, a local student told AP.
But others voiced deep skepticism.
“What we think of MONUSCO, since it has been here with us, is that we live a miserable life, because they say they are here to help bring peace, and the peace they’re supposed to bring—we don’t see it,” said Muguiko David, another Goma resident.
