SUMMARY
M23-R was a faction of M23 that was active in North Kivu Province, DR Congo (Zaire), in 2013. The faction emerged when M23 split into two rival camps shortly after regional leaders had concluded a United Nations-brokered accord intended to end the conflict in eastern Congo. M23-R was associated with Jean-Marie Runiga and commanders close to Bosco Ntaganda, while the rival faction was led by Sultani Makenga.
M23-R did not articulate a separate incompatibility from the wider M23 movement. Its conflict was internal to M23 and concerned leadership, control of the movement, relations with Bosco Ntaganda, and the future direction of the rebellion. The split reflected both immediate disputes within M23 and older rivalries inherited from the CNDP, particularly between networks associated with Laurent Nkunda and those associated with Bosco Ntaganda.
The split became public when M23 military chief Sultani Makenga dismissed the political leader Jean-Marie Runiga, who was considered close to Ntaganda. In a statement, Makenga accused Runiga of treason, financial embezzlement, creating divisions, ethnic hatred, deceit, and political immaturity. Many observers interpreted the move as an attempt by Makenga to distance himself from Bosco Ntaganda, who was wanted by the International Criminal Court, and to consolidate control over M23.
M23-R operated in North Kivu, in areas where the wider M23 movement had been active. The faction’s military confrontation with the Makenga-led faction occurred during the brief but intense internal split in early 2013. After heavy fighting, around 718 M23-R fighters fled into Rwanda. They were led by Jean-Marie Runiga, Colonel Baudouin Ngaruye, and other senior commanders.
M23-R consisted of fighters and commanders who remained loyal to Runiga and Ntaganda-linked networks. Its membership was drawn from the wider M23 structure and included former CNDP elements. The faction did not have time to develop a separate recruitment system or organizational structure before its defeat and flight to Rwanda.
The faction was politically associated with Bishop Jean-Marie Runiga. Important military figures included Colonel Baudouin Ngaruye and commanders close to Bosco Ntaganda. The opposing M23 faction was led by Sultani Makenga. The M23-R command structure collapsed after its military defeat and the flight of its fighters and leaders into Rwanda.
After crossing into Rwanda, M23-R fighters were held in an internment camp in Ngoma district, Eastern Province. The faction ceased to exist as a separate armed actor after Bosco Ntaganda surrendered at the United States Embassy in Kigali on 18 March 2013 and was transferred to the International Criminal Court. Without Ntaganda and after the internment of Runiga’s forces, M23-R no longer functioned as an organized armed faction.
