In January 2023, M23 rebels captured Kitshanga from the Congolese Army and allied forces in their renewed offensive in North Kivu.

In May 2023, a refugee camp near Kitshanga was attacked by the rebel group CPC-Nyatura, killing thirteen civilians.

[6] Wazalendo was created by the FARDC in May 2023 as a coalition of pro-government (or largely anti-M23) rebel groups in North Kivu, and consisted of the Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo (APCLS), Nduma Defense of Congo-Renovated (NDC-R), the Collective of Movements for Change (CMC), Patriotic Self-Defense Movement (MPA), and different Nyatura groups.

[4] On October 3, in the hills surrounding Burungu, Rushebeshe, and other towns near Kitshanga, M23 attempted to recapture positions they had lost days prior.

[12] Wazalendo fighters stormed the city of Kitshanga on October 6, while clashes continued in the village of Burungu.

[13] Twenty civilians were killed in the battles between October 3 and 6, and as Wazalendo captured the city, 80,000 people fled the fighting.