War-torn Ugandan countryside (EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection/Creative Commons)

Since the group’s the seizure of Congo's North Kivu province last spring, the country has been in a state of perpetual chaos and fear. After 18-months of warfare and political turmoil following the M23 uprising, however, it looks as if some stability may finally return to the country. 

Last November after M23 temporarily captured Goma, a city that U.N. troops had vowed to protect, the international organization sheepishly blamed the loss on the lack of military support from Rwanda. Yet, the fact that the small rebel army was able to outmaneuver the 18,000 U.N. military showed that M23 was a serious threat. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bertrand Bisimwa, a civilian leader of the M23 rebels, appears to have recently escaped to Uganda. Congolese government officials are now calling for Bisimwa to be returned to their control. 

After intense fighting in eastern Congo and failed peace talks with M23 after the rebels demanded amnesty for its leaders, the national army has had a number of recent victories. With the help of more militant, determined U.N. troops, the Congolese army has been winning back cities throughout the city’s eastern realm. 

Contact Executive Producer Sara Newman here. Tweet her here.