Open-source reporting indicates the security situation in North and South Kivu remains volatile despite diplomatic momentum. M23 seized Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu weeks later, and continues to control large areas of both provinces. UN reporting notes renewed M23 offensives even as talks show some progress.
Fighting has not stopped. Per the Critical Threats Congo War Security Review, FARDC and pro-government forces clashed with M23 near the Masisi-Walikale border in early June 2026, and the Congolese army conducted a drone strike on an M23 position at Kibati, around five miles north of Goma, on 2 June. Both sides are reinforcing, and the US has sanctioned senior M23 and FDLR commanders. Displacement continues to climb.
For operators, eastern DRC is a contested-control environment where the governing authority shifts by district. Goma and Bukavu function under M23 administration, but front lines around Masisi, Walikale and Nyiragongo are active and can move fast. Factor in armed-group checkpoints with no consistent rules of passage, the risk of being caught between FARDC drone strikes and M23 ground positions, and limited medevac. Any movement needs current local ground-truth, vetted fixers, clear extraction routes toward the Rwandan border or Goma airport when open, and a hard line on travelling outside controlled urban cores.
