Fresh attacks by multiple armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are casting a shadow over fragile truce efforts, even as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel movement has begun withdrawing from positions it had seized in the country's south. The contrasting developments highlight the complexity of achieving lasting peace in a region that has been gripped by conflict for more than three decades.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a jihadist group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, carried out a fresh raid on the village of Makumo in the Mambasa territory of Ituri province — a remote, forested area in northeastern Congo — killing at least nine people, abducting around ten others, slitting civilians' throats, and burning homes and vehicles. Civil society representatives say it is the second such ADF attack on the Mambasa area within a week, part of a sharp resurgence of violence in the territory since the start of 2026 following a relative lull in 2025. Local civil society leader John Muleveryo condemned what he described as an absence of response from security forces, issuing an urgent appeal to national authorities to protect civilians. Separately, lesser-known armed groups have also been active: the Cooperative for the Development of Congo, which claims to defend the Lendu ethnic community, and the Convention for the Popular Revolution, fighting on behalf of the rival Hema community, have both carried out attacks in the northeast.

Meanwhile, the AFC/M23 movement — backed by Rwanda — has begun withdrawing from several localities in South Kivu province, including Sange, Nyakabere, Luberizi, and Bwerega, repositioning northward along the Uvira–Bukavu road corridor. The group's pullback, confirmed by the Congolese army, follows sustained pressure from the United States, which brokered talks and had demanded that M23 fighters withdraw roughly 70 kilometres north of Uvira, a town the movement captured in December 2025. The group's leadership frames the move not as a retreat but as a "repositioning" and "an act of good faith in line with the peace process." According to the Congolese army, M23 forces have now settled around Luvungi, approximately 65 kilometres north of Uvira. The US State Department on 8 May called on all parties to respect the ceasefire and de-escalate.

The dual picture — a diplomatic signal from M23 on one front, and intensifying attacks by the ADF and ethnic militias on another — underscores the challenge facing President Félix Tshisekedi's government. Analysts warn that while talks with M23 represent a significant diplomatic track, violence by groups outside those negotiations could derail broader stabilisation efforts and further deepen what is already considered one of the world's gravest humanitarian crises.