The group commissioned 9,318 of them as “commandos” graduating from its Tchanzu training camp on July 20 — its fifth such announcement since mid-2025. Critical Threats says it cannot confirm the figure.
The conflict has also become one of Africa’s most drone-heavy fronts. Congolese forces fly Chinese CH-4 and Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Anka drones to cut M23’s supply lines. A leaked Congolese army memo, reported by Africa Intelligence and cited by Critical Threats, estimated Rwandan-linked TB2 drones have carried out about five strikes a day in the Kivus since mid-June.
More than 120 armed groups remain active in the region. Fighting has forced 4.3 million people from their homes since M23’s 2024 return, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies — with the worst-hit areas overlapping the same mineral-rich territory the war is being fought over.
The new recruitment and rising drone activity suggest neither side is preparing to stand down, even as diplomats pursue separate talks in Doha and Washington.
