In a noteworthy communique issued January 26th 2026 by AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, the Alliance Fleuve Congo reaffirmed its resolute commitment to the liberated territories of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including the strategic city of Goma.
One year after the January 2025 entry into Goma, a city of over two million people is functioning under a new administrative framework. Markets are open. Civil servants report to work. Schools have reopened. The Goma Airport remains closed to commercial flights, but ground transport corridors are operational.
The communique categorically rejects any withdrawal from liberated territories and highlights the restoration of basic services and governance structures as the foundational achievements of AFC administration. Critics of the new order point to accountability deficits; supporters point to the concrete reduction in random violence that characterized Goma under the previous security vacuum.