This timeline of the M23 campaign (2022–present) covers the period from January 2026 to the present day.

January 2026

1–4 January On 1 January 2026, M23 rebels from Kasopo, Masisi Territory, attempted to outflank FARDC positions near Buhimba on the Walikale–Masisi border but were repelled by a joint FARDC–Wazalendo force and retreated back to Kasopo and Mahanga as FARDC reportedly captured around ten rebels. On 2 January, M23 clashed with FARDC–Wazalendo forces in Kasenyi, in the Katoyi sector of Masisi Territory, as part of an effort to "expand their area of influence". On 3 January, they launched another attack in Kilongo, about 3 km from Buhimba in the Waloa Yungu groupement of Walikale Territory. In Masisi Territory, M23 clashed with FARDC–Wazalendo forces in Bingaro, Katoyi, after reinforcing from Kazinga, while another rebel advance toward Humura was repelled by "loyalist forces" backed by Wazalendo. That same day, FARDC presented captured suspects in Kinshasa, including seven Rwandan soldiers and eight foreign civilians, as evidence of Rwanda's direct involvement alongside M23 in North and South Kivu, arguing that the arrests contradicted Rwanda's claims of a defensive posture, demonstrated that it was actively waging war inside Congolese territory, attempting to regionalize the conflict by involving foreign nationals and allied armed groups, and violating UN Security Council resolutions as well as the December 2025 Washington peace agreement.

5–11 January On 5 January, President Tshisekedi met Angolan President João Lourenço in Luanda, during which Tshisekedi said Lourenço presented "interesting" ideas aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern DRC. A follow-up meeting scheduled for 8 January was intended to further develop these proposals, whose specific details remain unclear, and to underline that any Angolan-led initiative would not replace the Washington and Doha tracks but rather encourage the parties to honor their existing commitments, with Lourenço potentially facilitating political dialogue in Kinshasa involving Tshisekedi and various Congolese stakeholders, including M23, opposition figures, and representatives of religious and civil society groups, who would participate without leading the process. Although the leaders did not address calls for a fully inclusive dialogue sought by some Congolese elites, Angola reportedly reached out to certain opposition members about possible talks. Tshisekedi stated that any engagement would first require M23 to announce an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, which he would then assess.

Meanwhile, violence continued on the ground: between 5 and 8 January, four people were killed in Sake by armed men believed to be M23 rebels who control the area, and on 6 January, the group dropped bombs in Katobo forest in Walikale Territory's Kisimba groupement, which alarmed residents and farmers despite no active clashes in the area. On 7 January, the M23 reinforced its positions in Mpeti, Kisimba, with three trucks carrying fighters and ammunition from Kalembe, 18 km from Pinga, before returning empty, as local officials stated that the buildup aimed to launch long-planned offensives against the strategic town of Pinga. On 11 January, Wazalendo attacked M23 positions in Kazinga, using heavy and light weapons to preempt a rebel offensive against FARDC–Wazalendo positions in the Nyamaboko 1 and 2 groupements. In Fizi Territory, a vessel known as Super Bus, en route to Bujumbura for repairs while navigating Lake Tanganyika, was intercepted near Makobola 2 by a joint FARDC maritime and Wazalendo patrol. This followed the seizure of another boat, Okako 2, captured on 8 January in the village of Mizimu, also in Fizi Territory. Since M23's capture of Uvira, authorities imposed additional restrictions to curb movement in the region, including a ban on traffic between South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces via Lake Tanganyika, with all vessels now considered suspicious amid ongoing hostilities.

12–16 January On 12 January, nine M23 fighters from Lubero Territory surrendered to the Wazalendo faction of the Forces Patriotiques pour la Paix/Armée du Peuple (FPP/AP) in Fatua in the Kisimba groupement, Walikale Territory, after "fleeing the suffering they endured in the rebellion". On 15 January, M23 pushed through multiple locations in South Kivu, including Kaziba Chiefdom, Langala, and Rubanga, before reaching Lemera, where its fighters split into two groups, one advancing toward Kidote and the other toward Nakandongo. That day, the movement announced that it was transferring responsibility for Uvira's security to the international community, reiterating its decision, first stated on 15 December 2025, to withdraw its forces. Corneille Nangaa stated that M23 had completely pulled out its monitoring unit and would no longer be responsible for maintaining security in Uvira, calling on international actors to protect civilians and uphold order. He warned that armed groups outside the peace process, including the Burundian army, the FDLR, Wazalendo, and mercenaries allied with the Congolese army, could destabilize the city and undermine peace initiatives. Nonetheless, in Uvira, M23 rebels confiscated road construction materials, loading tar onto 34 Wowo trucks bound for Rwanda, seizing tricycles transported by other vehicles, evacuating remaining equipment through the Kamanyola border crossing, and driving cattle and small livestock from the highlands and midlands toward Bwegera to unknown destinations. In Fizi Territory, M23-allied Twirwaneho rebels clashed with FARDC in Tuwetuwe, about 15 km from the Mikenge displacement site in the Itombwe sector of Mwenga Territory, forcing government troops to retreat toward Point Zero village on the Fizi–Mwenga border in the Mitumba highlands, a settlement established in 2018 by internally displaced persons fleeing violence in the highlands of Fizi, Mwenga, and Uvira Territories and serving as the FARDC's final defensive position. On 16 January, Twirwaneho rebels seized Point Zero and forced FARDC units to retreat to Mulima village in the Basilotcha groupement of the Tanganyika sector. Its capture opened a corridor for the rebels along the Mulima–Mukera axis toward Fizi-center, from where they could easily advance toward Tanganyika Province via Misisi without passing through Baraka. After the fall of Point Zero, displaced civilians were once again forced to flee in heavy rains to Bilende, Kanguli, Nakiele, Mulima, and Lusuku, where they faced extremely precarious living conditions due to the lack of assistance after abandoning all their belongings.

16–20 January Following a high-level meeting in Lomé on 16–17 January, the African Union outlined a structured mediation framework for eastern DRC led by Faure Gnassingbé as chief mediator, and to address the conflict's complexity, the AU appointed five former African heads of state as co-facilitators: Oluṣẹgun Ọbasanjọ (military and security), Sahle-Work Zewde (humanitarian affairs), Uhuru Kenyatta (armed-group dialogue), Mokgweetsi Masisi (regional economic cooperation), and Catherine Samba-Panza (civil society, reconciliation, and women's issues). The framework also includes an independent joint secretariat bringing together the AU, regional organizations, and neighboring blocs, with the AU Commission coordinating with international partners such as the UN, Qatar, the EU, and major global powers. The meeting urged both the DRC and M23 to fast-track the fulfillment of their commitments, emphasized peaceful solutions to the conflict, reiterated its full backing of the Doha process, and called on the parties to resume talks promptly to finalize negotiations on the six remaining protocols. On 17 January, M23 stated that it had finalized its withdrawal from Uvira. While the bulk of its forces and equipment had departed, observers reported a residual presence, including a column of at least 200 armed fighters leaving the city, some walking and others transported by trucks, with heavy weapons visibly carried. Gunfire, including RPG fire, was reported around Uvira that day. South Kivu Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki said that M23 elements were still present and holding positions on hills overlooking the city, particularly in Katongo, Kigongo, Makobola 1 and 2, and the Kivovo mountains. He also noted that other fighters had withdrawn toward Sange, Luvungi, and the South Kivu Sugar Refinery, roughly 15 kilometers from Uvira, calling the situation a clear breach of the ceasefire, which stipulates a withdrawal beyond Kamanyola, outside Uvira Territory. On 18 January, witnesses reported the presence of youths claiming to be Wazalendo in certain quartiers, while FARDC troops were not reported in the city. FARDC later confirmed on 19 January that it had reestablished control over Uvira on 18 January and stated that its forces remained deployed in and around the city to consolidate positions and protect civilians and their property. Meanwhile, in Walikale Territory, FARDC carried out airstrikes on M23 positions on Mount Kasopo along the Kisimba–Ikobo border.

21–29 January