2025 in Review: Rwanda, M23, and the battle for Goma

We're looking back at 10 of the episodes that defined 2025 at The Take. This originally aired on January 30. None of the dates or references have been changed. Bodies are lining the streets of Goma and hospitals are overwhelmed after an escalation in the long-simmering conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rwandan-backed M23 group claims it took control of the city, and the DRC has called it a declaration of war by Rwanda. But why is Rwanda involved and what are its interests? In this episode: Kambale Musavuli (@kambale), Analyst, Center for Research on the Congo-Kinshasa Episode credits: This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra, Sonia Bhagat and Chloe K. Li, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Hagir Saleh, Hanah Shokeir, Melanie Marich, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten.  Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. We’ll be back tomorrow. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube