Land ownership conflicts in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is under the control of rebels, are complicating a peace agreement between Congo and Rwanda brokered by the administration of President Donald Trump that was signed in June 2025.
Returning farmers to M23 rebellion-controlled areas discovered agricultural lands that were occupied or had been altered during their absence.
On June 27, 2025, at Washington D.C., Congo Minister of Foreign Affairs Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe signed the peace accord. Delays in Congo-M23 peace talks in Doha, which were anticipated to yield a separate agreement, have been reported.
Most notably, the M23 rebels, supposedly with military assistance from Rwanda, took over the eastern Congo area as of the start of 2025, and this was inclusive of the large cities of Goma and Bukavu, the provincial capitals of North and South Kivu.
The problem of land disputes has developed into being very large and numerous cases of it have been reported.
According to Human Rights Watch reports, the M23 rebels killed civilians in at least 14 villages in North Kivu province between July 10 and 30, 2025, who were mostly the ethnic Hutu villagers. The organization characterized these assaults as part of a military campaign in the region.
The problem of land ownership is a major obstacle to the implementation of the peace agreement because displaced populations are returning to their homes and trying to recover land in areas that were occupied by rebels during the conflict.
