The
March 23 Movement , often abbreviated as
M23 and also known as the
Congolese Revolutionary Army, was a rebel military group based in eastern areas of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), mainly operating in the province of
North Kivu. The 2012
M23 rebellion against the DRC government led to the displacement of large numbers of people. On 20 November 2012, M23 took control of
Goma, a provincial capital with a population of one million people, but was requested to evacuate it by the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region because the DRC government had finally agreed to negotiate with them. In late 2013 Congolese troops, along with UN troops, retook control of Goma and M23 announced a ceasefire, saying it wanted to resume peace talks.