Motivations, ambitions of Congo’s M23 rebels unclear, analysts say
Voice of America
Members of the M23 movement monitor the area following the takeover of the city at the Place de l'Independance in Bukavu on Feb. 20, 2025. M23 rebels guard outside the South Kivu province administrative office, at the center of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, Feb. 16, 2025.
A Rwandan government minister and the spokesperson of the M23 rebel group were sanctioned Thursday by the United States for alleged involvement in the recent conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive for a news conference in the White House on Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington.
FILE - Somali National Army soldiers stand guard against al-Shabab militants in the Middle Shabelle region in Somalia, Dec. 10, 2012. Somali officials say more than 100 militants were killed Feb. 20, 2025, during al-Shabab attacks on military bases in the region.
FILE - Geir Pedersen, the United Nations' special envoy to Syria, speaks to journalists in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 18, 2024. FILE - Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa walks in the presidential palace in Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024.
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing at his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law, at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Feb. 20, 2025.
FILE - A poster of Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is seen along a road in Kabul, Aug. 14, 2023. ICC chief prosecutor’s announced, Jan. 23, 2025, seeking arrest warrants for Akhundzada and a close associate accused of crimes against humanity.
Ivorian troops take part in a ceremony marking the handover to them of the French military base in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 20, 2025. The sign reads: "See you soon."
FILE - The National Endowment for Democracy's Democracy Service Medal is displayed at the Library of Congress in Washington.
FILE- The "Visit Rwanda" logo is seen on the sleeve of Arsenal's Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard during a club friendly football match between Arsenal and Sevilla at the Emirates Stadium in London. July 30, 2022.
FILE - German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wear protective suits during their visit to the semiconductor manufacturer of Infineon Technologies AG in Dresden, Germany, July 13, 2023.
FILE - Workers inspect railway tracks, which serve as a part of the Belt and Road freight rail route in Sichuan province, China, March 14, 2019.
FILE - Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivers a speech during the Heads of State of Central Asia Summit session in Astana, Kazakhstan, Aug. 9, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Presidential Press Service/handout via AFP)
This photograph shows a damaged hospital following a Russian drone strike in Odesa on Feb. 19, 2025.