DR Congo War: The History of M23 Control (Map)

[Editor's note: This map article was published in late 2013, and was originally intended to be the first piece in PolGeoNow's conflict map subscription service. Subscriber coverage has since refocused on other conflicts, and we're now making this piece free for all readers.]

From 2012 to 2013, the M23 rebels became the Democratic Republic of the Congo's most powerful rebel group in recent history, establishing military control over a major city in country's east. You may have heard how M23 was defeated suddenly in late 2013, but do you know what territory they controlled while they were active? Learn more with this exclusive map of M23's territorial possessions over time, as well as a primer on the group's short history and ultimate defeat.

Map by Evan Centanni (all rights reserved).

Congo's War with M23

The Democratic Republic of the Congo - formerly known as Zaire - has been at war for decades. After serving as the stage for a regional conflict partly sparked by the Rwandan Genocide in the mid-1990s, as well as a follow-up war spanning officially from 1998 to 2003, the eastern DRC has become the stomping ground of dozens of rebel groups with often-shifting allegiances.

The March 23 Movement, better known as M23, only appeared in May of 2012. However, it quickly became the most prominent of the many rebel forces operating in the region, carving out its own area of territorial control and proving a match for the Congolese army. In late 2012 it captured Goma, a city of one million and the capital of Congo's North Kivu province. It was eventually crushed in a rapid military campaign by the army and a UN peacekeeper intervention brigade in November 2013.

Brief Update

Dear Readers,

The last few weeks have been a bit busy, and I apologize for not yet posting any new maps or articles during this time. Rest assured that more content is coming very soon, in both the paid and free sections of the site. For any of you have already subscribed to our new premium service, I am looking into further extending your subscriptions to make up for lost time. In the meantime, feel free to contact me at evan@polgeonow.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Looking forward to the new era of Political Geography Now!

Evan Centanni
evan@polgeonow.com


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Map: Palestine Recognized by Two More Countries (134/193)

(Keep up with changes to Palestine's situation: view all Palestine updates.)

Countries recognizing the State of Palestine in green, with most recent additions highlighted. Palestine in magenta (circled). Click to enlarge. Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain graphic (source).

Announcement: The Future of PolGeoNow

Dear Readers,

This map took 20 hours of work.

Two and a half years ago, I started Political Geography Now as a site for people who want to keep up with changes to the world political map. It's grown a great deal in both readership and coverage of world events since then. And as some of you know, it's been almost entirely a labor of love. Putting out new maps and reports requires hours of work every week, but has earned me almost zero money.

I'm happy that I can use my free time to create something cool. But after years of living paycheck-to-paycheck off part-time side jobs, the stress of creating almost-weekly new maps and articles has become too much to juggle. I'm busy all the time, but still struggling to pay my rent each month. If Political Geography Now is going to continue publishing its high-quality maps and articles, it needs to start generating some modest income.

I don't want end or scale back the blog any more than you do, so here's the plan: from next month PolGeoNow will continue to publish many free articles and maps on the site, but also start offering some paid premium content. If you can't afford to pay, I understand - you'll still get to enjoy regular updates and great maps, and the entire catalog of past articles will always be freely accessible. But if you are able to pay to support our work, you'll get access to even more original maps and in-depth, professional reporting. I hope to even expand coverage in some areas, for example by publishing more frequent updates to conflict zone maps.

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Though it may be possible to buy individual articles in the future, I'm starting off by offering paid subscriptions to access all premium content online. Besides all the great content, subscribing will also get you an ad-free interface and discounts on special services or products the site may provide in the future. If you're already sold, you can sign up now to lock in the introductory price!

Moving to even a partial paid model has been a very tough decision, and I hope you can all bear with us through the transition. I'm always happy to hear feedback from PolGeoNow readers, so feel free to let me know about any of your advice or concerns. Thank you so, so much for all your wonderful support so far!

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Evan Centanni
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No More Bangsamoro Republik: Philippine Rebel Occupation Defeated

Claims and territorial control of the MNLF rebels and Bangsamoro Republik during last month's crisis. Click to see full-sized map and article. Map by Evan Centanni.

Territory Retaken by Government
Last month, Political Geography Now mapped Moro rebel control in the Philippines' Zamboanga crisis. The rebels, drawn from a group which had declared independence from the Philippines as the Bangsamoro Republik, had occupied several neighborhoods of Zamboanga City in the country's southwest after an aborted attempt to raise their flag in the city center.

Ten days after we published that article, the government of the Philippines declared the crisis over, with all hostages freed and only scattered fighting occurring over the next two days as the surviving rebels attempted to escape the area. After nearly three weeks of chaos, the city of Zamboanga was once again fully under government control.

What of the MNLF fighters?
Though hundreds of rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were killed in the fighting, some did escape, and the attack's commander Habier Malik is still missing. Nur Misuari, the faction's leader and founder of the self-declared Bangsamoro Republik, was not present at the attack but is now wanted on charges of rebellion. But he may have more than just the government to worry about - Malik's surviving men from the Zamboanga attack are also said to be on the hunt for Misuari, who allegedly tricked them into participating. According to Mujiv Hataman, governor of the officially sanctioned Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Misuari promised Malik's men that U.N. peacekeepers would arrive soon after the attack to secure Bangsamoro independence and reward each fighter with 10,000 pesos (US $230) and a new weapon.

BIFF Attacks
Attacks by other Moro rebel groups in nearby regions continued until just after Zamboanga was secured. In particular, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a splinter group from the Moro Islamic Liberation Fighters (MILF) who are currently in peace talks with the Philippine government, continued launching attacks elsewhere in Mindanao into early October. The BIFF is not closely tied to Nur Misuari's MNLF, and these were apparently just opportunistic attacks taking advantage of the military's distraction during the crisis in Zamboanga.

More information: Bangsamoro Republik? Philippine Separatists Seize Territory (map)