Aligned Nations · The wars

Eastern DR Congo

⚔ The aggressor

Rwanda and M23

M23, backed by Rwandan troops, renewed its offensive in 2021 and seized Goma and Bukavu in early 2025, installing its own administrations on Congolese land.

Backed by

  • Rwanda → M23UN experts (2024) found 3,000–4,000 Rwandan troops fighting beside M23 and Rwanda in de facto control of its operations.
  • Uganda → M23UN experts (2025) reported Ugandan support and free passage for M23; Uganda denies it.

Their case: Rwanda says it is defending itself against the FDLR, a Hutu militia with roots in the 1994 genocide that has fought alongside Congo's army.

Great Lakes, Africa · since 2021 (M23's latest offensive) · updated 2026-10-12

Deaths: More than 7,000 in January–February 2025 alone, as M23 took Goma and Bukavu (DRC Prime Minister to the UN)

Rwanda-backed M23 still holds Goma and Bukavu and keeps fighting despite the Washington and Doha peace deals, while minerals from the land it holds flow to Rwanda.

🇨🇩 DR Congo30%🇷🇼 Rwandaaggressor11%

Summary

The M23/AFC rebels, backed by Rwanda's army, seized the provincial capitals Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu in February 2025 and installed their own administrations. Human Rights Watch has documented summary executions, sexual violence, torture, forced labour and the forced recruitment of thousands, and the UN found that M23 with Rwandan forces killed at least 319 civilians in Rutshuru in July 2025 alone.

The DRC–Rwanda Washington Accords (December 2025) and the Doha framework with M23 (November 2025) have not stopped the fighting: Rwanda's troops have not withdrawn, and minerals from M23-held areas are smuggled to Rwanda — the US sanctioned a Rwandan gold refinery in June 2026. Eastern Congo is also living through its worst Ebola outbreak on record.

Where it stands: The UN Security Council was told on 29 September 2026 that clashes continue despite the peace deals; DRC and Rwandan officials met in Geneva on 16–17 September on implementation. MONUSCO's mandate is up for renewal in December 2026.

The parties

  • DR Congo government (army and Wazalendo militias)

    30%

    Defends its territory against a foreign-backed occupation and has signed every peace deal, but its allied militias and the FDLR tie stain its record.

    • Signed the Washington Accords and the Doha framework.
    • Relies on Wazalendo militias and has cooperated with the FDLR, both accused of abuses (HRW World Report 2026).

    🇨🇩 DR Congo in the nations ranking30%

  • Rwanda

    11%

    Backs an occupation of its neighbour's land and profits from its minerals, while still not withdrawing as it agreed.

    • Rwandan forces fought alongside M23 in atrocities documented by HRW (June 2026).
    • Has not lifted its 'defensive measures' (troops in DRC) as the Washington Accords require.
    • US sanctions (June 2026) on a Rwandan gold refinery over DRC gold taken with Rwandan forces' help.

    🇷🇼 Rwanda in the nations ranking11%

  • M23 / AFC

    Seized cities by force and rules them through executions, forced recruitment and plunder.

    • At least 319 civilians killed in Rutshuru, 9–21 July 2025 (OHCHR).
    • 62 cases of summary executions and unlawful killings in Uvira; about 200,000 fled (HRW, May 2026).
    • Ordered tens of thousands of displaced people near Goma out of their camps within 72 hours.

    An armed group, not a nation — not scored in the ranking.

Articles

How each nation is scored — the ten principles of our policy reforms
  1. Justice (adl). No one's land, life, rights or wealth taken unjustly; justice upheld for everyone, even enemies, and what was wrongly taken given back. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  2. Protection of life (hifz al-nafs). Life is sacred: non-combatants never targeted, war only against real aggression, and no help given to another's aggression. Political Policy Reform; the objectives of the sharia (maqasid)
  3. Prohibition of usury and speculation (riba, gharar). Public and private finance built on shared risk and real assets, not interest-bearing debt or speculative bets. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  4. Circulation of wealth and zakat (tadawul al-mal). Wealth must not circulate only among the rich; zakat, endowments and fair wages meet every person's basic needs. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform
  5. Trust over common resources (amana). Water, energy, minerals and public assets belong to the whole community — not privatised, monopolised or signed away for private or foreign gain. Economic and Financial Policy Reform
  6. Accountability and truthfulness (muhasaba, sidq). Rulers, security forces and firms answer to law and to the public; no coups, state capture, bribery or concealment. Economic, Political and National Policy Reform
  7. Legitimate authority by consultation (shura). Rule rests on the community's consent, given through consultation and a free pledge — not inheritance, force or foreign backing. Political and National Policy Reform
  8. Kept covenants and peacemaking (wafa bil-ahd, sulh). Treaties, contracts and rulings honoured; an offer of peace met with peace; disputes ended by reconciliation. Economic, Financial and Political Policy Reform
  9. Independence and self-reliance (izza). No foreign power or creditor in control of the nation's revenues or decisions; its own strength, industry and knowledge built. Financial and Political Policy Reform
  10. Human dignity, privacy and freedom of worship (karama). Every person's dignity protected — citizen or migrant; no spying on private lives; faiths and places of worship free and safe. Economic, Financial, Political and National Policy Reform

These are the principles the Policy Reform pages draw from the expert opinions. Each nation is marked 0–5 on each from its record as a state — its economy, government and treatment of its people, and its conduct in its wars — drawn from UN bodies, the ICJ and ICC, human-rights monitors and the reporting under each war. The ten marks make the percentage; each war a nation started, provoked or joined against another people then takes 15 points off it, and an aggressor always ranks below every nation that started no war. The score judges a state's conduct, not its people or their faith.