Erasto urged North Kivu youth to join the M23 movement

A recruitment drive is M23's play to keep momentum alive after a drone strike wiped out their military spokesperson and 18 others.

M23's recruitment push in Ishasha

• Colonel Bahati Musanga Erasto urged young people to enlist in M23's ranks.
• Erasto serves as M23's parallel-appointed governor of North Kivu.
• Families were told to encourage sons and daughters to join up.
• Recruits aged 18 and above would head to Rutshuru for training.

Framing the fight as a cause

• Erasto pitched the conflict as a generational justice struggle.
• He accused President Félix Tshisekedi of murdering eastern Congolese communities.
• Ngoma's killing didn't end the movement's mission, per his speech.
• Even failure to capture the nation wouldn't stop future generations.

Lt. Col. Willy Ngoma's killing

• Ngoma died earlier this week in Masisi territory.
• A combat drone reportedly hit his convoy around 3:00 a.m.
• Nineteen people perished, and security detail members were among them.
• M23 pinned the strike on Congo's army, but Kinshasa stayed silent.

Kinshasa's stance on M23

• Congo's government labels M23 a destabilizing armed group.
• Military operations aim to restore state authority in the east.
• No official response to Erasto's remarks has surfaced yet.