2025-04-25 12:52:57
Kabila's return to Congo fuels tensions amid truce
Observers are approaching the latest truce signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels with great caution, following numerous failed attempts at keeping the peace in the past.
TAP FOR MORE2025-04-07 14:11:52
DRC and M23 rebels engage in peace talks
A delegation of the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) government held fresh talks with M23 rebels in Qatar last week about stopping the fighting in the country's east, a source close to the discussions told news Reuters and AFP news agencies on Saturday.
TAP FOR DETAILS2025-03-27 12:51:38
DRC conflict: Why peace remains elusive
The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached a critical juncture.
MORE HERE2025-03-24 14:40:05
Angola relinquishes mediator role in DRC conflict
Angola announced on Monday it would withdraw from its roleas mediator in the conflict in the eastern DRC in order to focus on itspresidency of the African Union.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco was named mediator by theAfrican Union (AU) in 2022 in an attempt to pacify the protracted conflictinvolving the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, which recently launched alightning offensive and seized large swathes of land in mineral-rich easternDRC.
"Angola recognises the need to free itself from theresponsibility of mediating this conflict... in order to more comprehensivelyfocus on the general priorities established by the continentalorganisation," the presidency said in a statement.
The southern African country took up the rotating presidencyof the African Union two months ago.
Luanda added that "necessary steps" would be takenwith the AU Commission to "find the country whose head of state... shouldtake over the mediation".
"Angola has always believed in the need for directnegotiations between the DRC government and the M23," the presidency said.
- AFP
2025-03-18 12:59:21
Belgium, Rwanda expel diplomats over DRC conflict
Belgium and Rwanda are expelling each other's diplomats in tit-for-tat moves as part of an escalating dispute over the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
MORE HERE2025-03-13 13:00:14
DRC, M23 rebels to hold peace talks in Angola
The Democratic Republic of Congo's government and the rebel group M23 will meet in Angola for peace talks on 18 March.
TAP HERE FOR THE CONTENT2025-03-13 12:49:30
2025-03-12 12:49:29
Rebel group M23 hits mining jackpot in DRC, generating $800 000 per month
Mine shafts snake under the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's mountains, but instead of the Congolese government their rich veins are making a mint for the Rwanda-backed M23.
HERE'S MORE TO THIS STORY2025-03-11 21:59:34
Angola will attempt to broker direct talks between Congo and M23, presidency says
Angola said on Tuesday it would attempt to broker direct talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the coming days.
There was no immediate comment from the Congolese government, which has repeatedly refused to hold talks with the M23.
The Southern African country has been trying to mediate a lasting ceasefire and de-escalate tensions between Congo and neighbouring Rwanda, which has been accused of backing the Tutsi-led rebel group.
- Reuters
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-03-10 12:15:22
DRC bets on cobalt export freeze to halt price tumble
The DRC has temporarily suspended exports of cobalt as theworld's leading producer hopes to stem falling prices, though analysts warn thefreeze is not without risk.
The government said the surprise four-month ban on exportsof cobalt - a key component in electric car batteries - aims to stabilise themarket "in the face of an overabundance of supply" internationally.
In 2024, the DRC produced 76% of the world's cobalt,according to the US Geological Survey, but over the last three years cobaltprices have fallen by 75% - their lowest level in eight years.
Robert Searle, analyst at Fastmarkets, a raw material pricereporting agency, warned the DRC's ban may carry "significant risks".
"Chinese companies have invested billions of dollarsinto the DRC's mining industry, this uncertainty and ban caught them off guardand could slow further investment into the country," he told AFP.
Searle also said "higher cobalt prices and (supply)disruptions could see a greater deployment" of cobalt-free batteries orones using less of the mineral "in the coming years".
- AFP
2025-03-06 11:03:51
Faith in power of the dead comforts living in DRC's war-torneast
Faith healer Julie Kaviavu threw a handful of grains intothe fire and lit a cigarette as she prepared to ask the dead for advice - acommon practice in the war-torn eastern DRC.
To help curry favour with the ancestor she claimed to beable to talk to AFP brought an offering of homemade banana wine to hersmoked-filled hut, a site for healers like Kaviavu who dispense traditionalmedicine and commune with ancestral spirits.
All of a sudden Kaviavu's voice took on a gravelly tone asshe entered a trance, her eyes rolling back in their sockets as the ancestor"spoke" through the healer.
Although the spirit said he would have preferred awell-known brand of Congolese beer, he accepted the wine all the same.
Kaviavu's brother Sangala Paluku, also a healer, stood nearher adorned in a fur hat and puffing on a traditional pipe.
"These verandas help us heal, when there is drought orwar, we invoke our ancestors to ask them why," Paluku told AFP, using thelocal name for the huts.
Such verandas attract people from across the region to themountain village of Bulambo-Isale in the hope of finding answers to theproblems plaguing them.
- AFP
2025-03-05 12:00:41
60 rapes a day in the DRC - UN
The United Nations refugee agency reported an average of 60rapes a day in the DRC across the first two weeks of February, or 895 in total.
For the past four weeks 414 000 Congolese have been on themove in the DRC's North and South Kivu provinces, after the M23 ordered peoplein camps for internally displaced people to return to their hometowns, theUNHCR added.
Rwanda denies providing the M23 with military support.
But a UN experts' report found that it maintained 4 000troops in the eastern DRC as well as de facto control of the armed group.
The report said Rwanda was using the M23 to help securecontrol of the DRC's vast mineral wealth, helping it to profit from its richveins of gold and other minerals.
- AFP
2025-03-05 11:00:21
Nearly 80 000 fled east DRC violence to neighbouringcountries, says UN
Nearly 80 000 fleeing the conflict ravaging the easternDemocratic Republic of Congo since January have found refuge in neighbouringcountries, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.
Around 61 000 of those sought shelter in Burundi, which hastaken the bulk of refugees hoping to escape the fighting between the Congolesegovernment and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, the UNHCR added.
With Rwanda's support, the M23 has seized swathes of theDRC's mineral-rich east in recent months, displacing hundreds of thousands andtriggering what the UNHCR calls "one of the world's worst humanitariancrises".
For the past four weeks 414 000 Congolese have been on themove in the DRC's North and South Kivu provinces, after the M23 ordered peoplein camps for internally displaced people to return to their hometowns, theUNHCR added.
"Near the frontlines, sexual violence and human rightsabuses remain rampant, as is the looting and destruction of civilian homes andbusinesses," the UNHCR statement said.
- AFP
2025-03-04 07:01:59
Pro-Rwandan fighters abducted 130 patients in east DR Congo,says UN
M23 fighters have abducted at least 130 people fromhospitals in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's city of Goma capturedby the Rwandan-backed group, the United Nations said on Monday.
According to the UN, last week the M23 took 116 people fromGoma's CBCA Ndosho hospital and 15 others from the Heal Africa hospital, onclaims they were members of the DRC's army or pro-government militias.
"We are gravely concerned for the safety and wellbeingof at least 130 sick and wounded men the M23 rebels abducted last week from twohospitals in Goma," the UN Human Rights Office spokesperson RavinaShamdasani said in a statement.
"It is deeply distressing that M23 is snatchingpatients from hospital beds in coordinated raids and holding them incommunicadoin undisclosed locations."
- AFP
2025-03-03 09:00:22
Handover of 20 alleged Hutu rebels was staged, says DRC
The Democratic Republic of Congo's army denied on Sundaythat 20 fighters linked to the Rwandan genocide had been captured on itsterritory, calling a video of their handover to Rwanda "faked".
The statement came after the Rwanda-backed M23 armed groupin eastern DRC said on Saturday it had captured fighters from the DemocraticForces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia founded by ethnic Hutuswho took part in the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.
Rwanda has long pointed to the alleged presence of the FDLRin eastern DRC to justify its support for the M23.
With Rwanda's backing, the M23 has seized swathes of theDRC's troubled, mineral-rich east in recent months, including the keyprovincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.
- AFP
2025-02-28 23:06:06
At least 23 killed in Islamist attack in north-east DRC
At least 23 people were killed and about 20 taken hostage this week in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by a group linked to Islamic State, local sources told AFP on Friday.
The attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ituri province along the border with Uganda.
"A total of 23 people executed by these rebels" in the villages of Matolo and Samboko, Jospin Paluku, coordinator of one of the main civil society organisations in Mambasa territory, told AFP, specifying that the toll is provisional.At least another 20 civilians were "taken hostage, including the son of the village chief of Matolo", he added.
Humanitarian groups confirmed the numbers and said they were likely to rise.
The victims were mostly farmers working in the fields, a local police chief said.
ADF, which is made of former Ugandan rebels, has been implanted since the mid-1990s in the northeast of the DRC, where it has killed thousands of civilians despite the deployment of the Ugandan army alongside the Congolese armed forces.
At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, called "Shujaa," without successfully putting an end to their operations.
Paluku said it was the first ADF attack since the start of the year, after a three-month lull.
- AFP
2025-02-28 12:02:10
'We need to keep a close eye': Experts warn to be vigilant formystery DRC illness
Sharp surveillance will be required to ensure an appropriatestrategy to deal with a mystery illness in the DRC.
"This outbreak, as well as previous outbreaks in theDRC are of significance to the rest of the world and we need to keep a closeeye and assist with diagnosis and treatment," said Zania Stamataki,associate professor in viral immunology at the University of Birmingham inBritain.
Amanda Rojek, senior clinical fellow at Oxford University'sPandemic Sciences Institute said that while one disease might explain allcases, "we frequently see situations where there might be a mixture ofmore common illnesses contributing to case numbers".
An initially unexplained spate of deaths in southwestern DRCin October-November 2024 was eventually put down to malaria and commonrespiratory infections, compounded by malnutrition.
The DRC is one of the world's poorest countries.
- AFP
2025-02-28 08:00:29
WHO deploys rapid response team to investigate DRC mysteryillness
A national rapid response team, including WHO healthemergency experts, has been deployed in the DRC to investigate a new,unidentified cluster of illness and determine if there is an unusualpattern, the organisation said.
They are conducting interviews, disease surveillance andtreating diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis.
Initial laboratory tests have proven negative for Ebolavirus disease and Marburg virus disease.
Around half of the samples testedpositive for malaria. Further tests are to be carried out for meningitis, saidthe WHO. Food, water and environmental samples will also be studiedfor contamination.
- AFP
2025-02-28 07:10:10
WHO probes mystery illness cluster in western DRC
The World Health Organisation said on Thursday its expertswere investigating a new, unidentified cluster of illness in the DRC after twoprevious mystery outbreaks earlier this year.
The WHO said the Bolamba zone in the western province ofEquateur reported 12 people who fell ill, including eight deaths, in January.
Earlier this month, 158 cases and 58 deaths were reported inthe Basankusu zone.
And last week, 141 people fell ill in Basankusu zone. Nodeaths have been reported so far.
"Increased disease surveillance has identified a totalof 1 096 sick people and 60 deaths in Basankusu and Bolomba fitting a broadcase definition," the UN health agency added.
The definition includes "fever, headache, chills,sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, multiple joint pain and body aches, a runnyor bleeding from nose, cough, vomiting and diarrhoea.
"The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing manyconcurrent crises and outbreaks, putting a further strain on the health sectorand the population," the WHO added.
- AFP
2025-02-27 20:30:44
East DRC explosions kill at least 11
Two explosions that rocked a city in eastern DR Congo after a meeting of the M23 armed group on Thursday have killed at least 11 people and injured around 60, a hospital source told AFP.
President Felix Tshisekedi called the explosions a "heinous terrorist act".
A first explosion caused panic, sending spectators fleeing, before a second rang out.
The meeting, which took place in South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu was attended by one of the armed group's leaders, Corneille Nangaa.
"At the morgue, there are 11 bodies," all of whom arrived dead, the hospital source said at Bukavu provincial general hospital.
The source added that "in terms of injuries, there are already around 60 (people)".
Bukavu is one of two key cities in the turbulent region seized in recent weeks by anti-government M23 fighters who UN experts say are backed by Rwandan forces.
Witnesses present at the M23 meeting had previously told AFP they had seen between five and seven bodies after the explosions.
The M23 took control of South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu over a week ago, after capturing Goma, the capital of North Kivu and the main city in the country's east, late last month.
- AFP
2025-02-27 08:01:08
Rwanda says does not fear isolation over war in east DRC
Rwanda's foreign minister said on Wednesday the country didnot fear becoming increasingly isolated over the war in eastern DRC, insistingit would not be swayed from defending its borders.
The Rwanda-backed M23 has in recent weeks seized two majorcities in eastern DRC, giving the armed group a major foothold in the regionsince taking up arms again in late 2021.
Britain said on Tuesday it was suspending most directbilateral aid to Rwanda, while the US last week unveiled sanctions against aRwandan government minister.
"Any talks about punitive measures and sanctionsagainst Rwanda cannot sway us from protecting our borders and ourpopulation," Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told the UNcorrespondents' association ACANU.
"Rwanda doesn't fear to be isolated. We are facing anexistential threat against our country from a genocidal force.
"So talking about being diplomatically isolated reallyis not a concern for the time being."
- AFP
2025-02-26 12:00:11
Burundi troops deploy in east DRC
Burundi troops - allies of Kinshasa - were still deploying onTuesday in east DRC, as the UK announced it was suspending most directbilateral aid to Rwanda over an offensive by M23 fighters that UN experts sayis supported by soldiers from the east African nation.
Burundi fighters were moving north of Uvira to fend off theadvance of M23 fighters.
"Since Sunday, we have observed movements of heavilyarmed Burundian soldiers heading toward Luvungi", some by road from Uvira,others "crossing the Ruizi River" which runs along the border betweenthe DRC and Burundi, a resident of Sange, located halfway between Uvira andLuvungi, explained to AFP by telephone.
Many Wazalendo - pro-Kinshasa militia - "are joiningthem in Luvungi", the resident added under condition of anonymity.
M23 troops are present around the town of Kamanyola around75km north of Uvira.
- AFP
2025-02-26 11:39:07
DRC President Tshisekedi to hold talks to form unity government
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said he was going to begin discussions to form a unity government, as international pressure mounted for the Congolese government to resolve the crisis in the country's east.
TAP HERE FOR THE CONTENT2025-02-25 14:50:22
ICC prosecutor arrives in DRC amid conflict in east
The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC)Karim Khan has arrived in the DRC, his office said on Tuesday, as the countrygrapples with an upsurge in fighting in the east.
The Rwanda-backed M23 has in recent weeks seized two majorcities in eastern DRC, giving the armed group a major foothold in the regionsince taking up arms again in late 2021.
"We are extremely worried about recent developments inCongo, we know the situation particularly in the east is acute," Khan toldreporters on his arrival in the capital Kinshasa.
"The message has to be conveyed very clearly: Any armedgroup, any armed forces, any allies to armed groups or armed forces don't havea blank cheque," he said.
"They must comply to international humanitarianlaw," Khan added.
According to UN experts, the M23 is supported by around 4 000Rwandan soldiers.
- AFP
2025-02-25 12:56:55
A member of the M23 movement stands guard during an enrolmentof civilians, police officers, and former members of the Armed Forces of theDemocratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) who allegedly decided to join the M23movement voluntarily in Goma.
Recent gains have given the M23 movement control of LakeKivu following its lightning offensive in the east.
According to the UN, thelatest fighting has led to an exodus of more than 50 000 Congolese to Burundi,Uganda and other countries.
The M23 is now moving toward the town of Uvira near theBurundi border on the northwestern tip of Lake Tanganyika - the main exit routefor fleeing Congolese soldiers.
(Photo by Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
2025-02-25 12:00:17
DRC police officers stand on guard during a parade inKinshasa.
(Photo by Hardy Bope/AFP)
2025-02-25 10:49:25
Wounded SANDF soldiers repatriated from DRC, admitted to 1 Military Hospital
A group of injured South African National Defence Force soldiers have been repatriated from Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and have been admitted into 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria.
NEWS24 HAS DETAILS2025-02-21 19:48:20
UN Security Council to call on Rwanda to pull troops from Congo
The United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday to call on Rwanda's military to stop supporting the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and immediately withdraw all troops from the Congolese territory "without preconditions".
The French-drafted UN resolution "strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 in North-Kivu and South Kivu with the support of Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF)" and demands that the M23 immediately stop its hostilities and withdraw.
- Reuters
READ MORE HERE2025-02-21 15:47:52
EU summons Rwandan ambassador over DR Congo offensive
The EU on Friday summoned Rwanda's ambassador to demand Kigali pull out troops from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and stop backing an offensive by the M23 armed group.
M23 forces have seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC - including the main cities of Goma and Bukavu - in the face of limited resistance from Congolese forces.
"The European Union has today summoned the ambassador of Rwanda to the EU due to the ongoing offensive of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and M23 in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)," the EU said in a statement.
- AFP
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-02-21 13:00:22
42 000 people fled eastern DRC to Burundi in two weeks: UN
Around 42 000 people have fled the conflict raging ineastern DRC and crossed into Burundi in the past two weeks, the UN said on Friday.
"Just in the first two weeks, we have received ... 42 000people already seeking asylum," said Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, arepresentative of the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Burundi, adding that it hasbeen working with a contingency plan "targeting about 58 000 people whocould cross" over three months.
- AFP
2025-02-21 08:01:20
Fleeing DRC soldiers 'looting shops and stores'
A journalist in Lubero, DRC, who asked to remain anonymousbecause of security concerns, told AFP that "fleeing soldiers had openedfire in the centre" and "looted shops and stores".
Several residents contacted by AFP confirmed the account. Aline Nyota said she was travelling from Lubero to Butembo,45km further north, when "the Congolese soldiers we met robbed us: Phones,money and other goods."
"If you hesitate, they shoot," she said.
The local journalist said Ugandan troops backed by tankswere patrolling Lubero to provide security.
M23 forces, backed by Rwandan troops according to the UN,have faced little resistance since taking Goma on 28 January.
"It up to us to show resistance, to rejoin ourpositions and work," said Colonel Mak Hazukay, pleading with deserters notto mistreat civilians.
- AFP
2025-02-21 07:00:32
DRC army urges deserters to rejoin
The Democratic Republic of Congo's army on Thursday urgedsoldiers who fled in the face of an offensive by M23 forces to rejoin theirunits and help prevent further territorial losses.
Terrified residents in Lubero, some 250km north of theprovincial capital Goma, told to AFP that mobs of Congolese soldiers werelooting as M23 advanced on the town.
"I ask all the soldiers who deserted the front and arehanging around in Lubero and its surroundings to return to theircommanders," Colonel Mak Hazukay, a spokesperson for the army in theregion, said in a message broadcast on local radio stations.
"A soldier must not abandon his superior and hisgroup."
- AFP
2025-02-20 21:24:37
US sanctions Rwandan minister over DR Congo fighting
The United States on Thursday unveiled sanctions against a Rwandan government minister over his support for the M23 armed group fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
With support from the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF), the M23 have, in recent weeks, made big gains in the eastern DRC, seizing the cities of Goma and Bukavu and prompting warnings to the United Nations Security Council.
The unrest has stoked fears of a regional conflagration.
The US Treasury Department said it had designated the country's minister for regional integration James Kabarebe, accusing him of being "central" to Rwanda's support for the M23.
Kabarebe "is a Rwandan government liaison to M23 and orchestrates RDF support for the armed group," it said in a statement.
"He has coordinated the export of extracted minerals from mining sites in the DRC for eventual export from Rwanda," it added.
Yolande Makolo, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government, told AFP that the sanctions against Kabarebe were "unjustified and unfounded."
"The international community should support not undermine ongoing regional efforts towards a political solution," she said.
"If sanctions could resolve conflict in eastern DRC, we would have had peace in the region decades ago."
The Treasury also unveiled sanctions against Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, a member of the M23 and another group known as the Congo River Alliance, along with two of his companies.
Treasury's actions are intended to hold accountable officials "enabling the RDF and M23's destabilising activities in the eastern DRC," said Bradley Smith, the acting Treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
- AFP
2025-02-20 17:22:24
DR Congo unrest sparks biggest refugee wave to Burundi in 25 years
Burundi is dealing with its biggest influx of refugees in 25 years as families flee the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations refugee agency said.
Rwandan-backed M23 fighters have made big gains in the eastern DRC, seizing the cities of Goma and Bukavu, prompting warnings to the UN Security Council and stoking fears of a regional conflagration.
The United Nations warned on Wednesday that the M23 "continues to advance towards other strategic areas" in the eastern Congolese provinces of North and South Kivu.
- AFP
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-02-20 09:02:35
M23 pushing advance toward 'strategic zones' in DR Congo,warns UN
The M23 armed group is advancing on strategic zones in theeastern DRC after taking two key cities, the UN warned on Wednesday,underscoring the threat of a regional conflict.
Recent weeks have seen the rapid progression of theRwanda-backed M23, which has seized vast tracts of the eastern DRC, includingthe cities of Goma and Bukavu on Lake Kivu.
Bukavu on the southern side fell on Sunday, weeks afterfighters captured the city of Goma in the north - giving them total control ofthe lake situated between the cities.
"If our information is correct, (the M23) continues toadvance toward other strategic areas in North and South Kivu," the UNSecretary-General's special envoy for the Great Lakes region, Huang Xia, toldthe Security Council.
- AFP
2025-02-20 06:30:24
2025-02-19 16:23:08
Congolese church leaders push for peace talks between govt, M23 rebels
Congolese religious leaders are aiming to organise peace talks that would bring President Felix Tshisekedi's government, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and exiled opposition figures around the same table, two officials said on Wednesday.
The effort would require getting Tshisekedi to abandon his position of refusing to sit down with the rebels, whom he brands terrorists. But as M23 continues to advance after seizing eastern Congo's two largest cities, those involved in the effort say they are hopeful.
"We, the two churches, Catholic and Protestant, are trying to get the whole world around one table," Monsignor Donatien Nshole, secretary-general of the influential Catholic bishops conference (CENCO), said in an interview in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, where he met with President William Ruto to discuss how to combine regional mediation efforts with national ones.
- Reuters
READ MORE HERE2025-02-19 14:40:26
People gather around market stalls as residents begin toventure out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu.
Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paidtheir fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DRC'sLake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake's two main ports for weeks afterfighting disrupted the service.
Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 fighters and governmentforces has raged for months in the towns, villages and cities on the DRC sideof the lake, which straddles the border with Rwanda.
(Photo by Luis Tato/AFP)
2025-02-19 13:00:16
Calls grow for Congo to resolve conflict through dialogue
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has intensified his accusations against Rwanda, issuing a scathing critique against decades of what he described as "predatory aggression" against the Democratic Republic of Congo at the recent Munich Security Conference.
MORE HERE2025-02-19 12:00:38
UN human rights chief accuses M23 rebels of 'summaryexecutions' in DRC
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Tuesdayaccused Rwanda-backed rebels, who seized a second major city in easternDemocratic Republic of Congo, of killing children and attacking hospitals andwarehouses storing humanitarian aid.
Turk said in a statement on Tuesday that his office "confirmedcases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city ofBukavu last week. We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons."
He did not refer to specific events, but UN agencies havepreviously accused both Congolese government forces and the rebels ofrecruiting children.
The United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this monthlaunched a commission that will investigate atrocities, including rapes andkillings akin to "summary executions" committed by both sides sincethe beginning of the year.
The statement also said Turk's office received reports about"arbitrary arrests and detentions", as well as mistreatment and "allegedforced returns of Congolese young men fleeing violence in neighbouringcountries".
- Al Jazeera
2025-02-19 11:00:20
A military jacket, believed to belong to a Wazalendo - Patriotsin Swahili - militia fighter, lies on the ground at the burned and destroyedmarket facilities damaged by heavy looting following clashes at Kadutu Marketin Bukavu.
Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paidtheir fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DRC'sLake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake's two main ports for weeks afterfighting disrupted the service.
Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 fighters and governmentforces has raged for months in the towns, villages and cities on the DRC sideof the lake, which straddles the border with Rwanda.
(Photo by Luis Tato/AFP)
2025-02-19 09:30:50
'Cease all hostilities': UK calls on Rwanda to negotiationtable over DRC conflict
The UK Foreign Office summoned Rwanda's high commissioner -equivalent to an ambassador - in London in response to the ongoing M23 rebeladvance in the DRC.
"We urge Rwanda to immediately cease all hostilitiesand return to dialogue through African-led peace processes," a spokespersonsaid.
The M23 has seized large swathes of the mineral-rich easternDRC and faced limited resistance from Congolese forces.
UN experts say Rwanda effectively controls the M23 and hasat least 4 000 troops fighting alongside the group.
- AFP
2025-02-19 08:00:04
UK summons Rwandan envoy over M23 advance in DRC
Britain's foreign ministry on Tuesday said it had summonedRwanda's envoy to the UK to condemn advances made by the Rwanda-backed M23armed group in the eastern DRC.
M23 fighters and Rwandan troops marched largely unchecked onFriday into Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, before seizing the cityon Sunday. That capture follows the armed group's rout of the Congolesearmy to capture the key provincial capital of Goma in North Kivu last month.
"These advances constitute an unacceptable violation ofDRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity," a Foreign Officespokesperson said, calling for Rwanda to "immediately withdraw" allRwanda Defence Forces from Congolese territory.
- AFP
2025-02-19 07:39:46
Rwanda has 'expansionist ambitions' - DRC
The DRC government has accused Rwanda of "expansionistambitions" and said it is stealing vast amounts of minerals, but its callsfor international sanctions on Rwanda have not succeeded.
Rwanda denies supporting the M23 militarily. It accuses the DRC of sheltering the FDLR, an armed groupcreated by Hutus who took part in the massacre of Tutsis during the 1994Rwandan genocide.
On Sunday, the UK government warned of the risk of widerconflict after the M23 and Rwandan troops' march into Bukavu, saying therecould be "no military solution".
- AFP
2025-02-18 14:47:04
A displaced woman reacts after dismantling her shelter inthe Bulengo internally displaced persons (IDP) camp after it was burned down,in Bulengo.
Columns of M23 fighters allied with Rwandan troops enteredthe centre of another key city in the eastern DRC as the African Unionhighlighted growing fears that the strife-torn country could break up.Scores of people have fled since the fighters reachedoutlying districts of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province.
It was barely defended by the Congolese armed forces(FARDC).The fall of the city of one million people gives the M23total control of Lake Kivu, following its capture of Goma, capital ofneighbouring North Kivu province.
(Photo by Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
2025-02-18 13:00:18
'The soldier, the strategist': Rwanda's Kagame a hero, anddespot
For many at home and abroad, Rwanda's President Paul Kagameis the visionary hero who pulled his country from the depths of genocidalhorror and turned it into a development showcase built on tourism, conferencesand shiny deals with European football clubs and US basketball players.
For others, "PK" has become, at 67, a despot whomuzzles all opposition.
"You can't separate Kagame the politician from Kagamethe soldier, the strategist," said Onesphore Sematumba, of theInternational Crisis Group.
"When he talks about certain political and evendiplomatic issues to Westerners, he often says... 'Do these people know mybackground?'"
The future ruler was 3 years old when his parents, linked toRwanda's former royal family, fled to neighbouring Uganda after the massacresof Tutsis in 1959.
He spent 34 years in exile.
"Kagame is a very embittered former refugee, who grewup in a certain amount of hardship, very aware that he was a second-classcitizen in Uganda," said Michela Wrong, a journalist specialising in theregion.
- AFP
2025-02-18 12:00:34
DRC rebels promise security after seizing Bukavu in country'seast
Rwanda-backed rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC) have promised to "restore security" in Bukavu, the second majorcity in the country's east to fall under the control of the M23 since late inJanuary.
Residents of the capital of South Kivu province weretentatively walking the streets again on Monday, a day after M23 rebels overranthe city with next to no resistance from the fleeing Congolese army.
Thousands of people have fled to neighbouring Burundi whilesome residents who stayed behind welcomed the M23 as columns of fightersentered Bukavu on Sunday morning.
In a statement read on local radio on Monday, a rebelalliance that includes M23 said it would assist the population of Bukavu whowere "abandoned" by the army and allied combatants.
"Our forces have been working to restore the securityfor the people and their property, much to the satisfaction of the entirepopulation," it said.
- Al Jazeera
2025-02-18 11:00:06
Rwanda controls M23, say UN experts
United Nations experts say Rwanda effectively controls theM23 and has at least 4 000 troops fighting alongside the group.
The DRC government accuses Rwanda of "expansionistambitions" and says it is stealing vast amounts of minerals.
But its calls for international sanctions on Rwanda have sofar come to nothing.
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame denies the allegations butsays Hutu leaders implicated in the 1994 genocide are present in the easternDRC, threatening Rwanda, and must be eliminated.
- AFP
2025-02-18 10:00:09
Rwanda's Kagame: a 'chess-player' getting his way in DRCongo
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has shown his strategicacumen, honed by 30 years of cementing control at home and influence abroad, asconflict flares in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Raised as a refugee, forged by a Ugandan bush war and thehorrific Rwandan genocide of 1994, Kagame takes no chances when it comes tothreats to his country and personal authority, experts say.
Now Rwanda stands accused of backing an armed group - theM23 - that has seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC in recentweeks, facing limited resistance from Congolese forces.
For analysts, this underlines how Kagame has become thequintessential "chess-player" of African politics.
"He is the master of politico-military affairs,"said a Western diplomat. "With him nothing is left to chance, never."
- AFP
2025-02-18 09:00:29
Rebel-held cities' ports to reopen
Erasto Bahati Musanga, the rebel-appointed governor of NorthKivu, DRC, announced that ports in Bukavu and Goma would reopen on Tuesday.
Navigation on Lake Kivu, one of the largest lakes in Africa,had been banned since late January as a result of the rebel offensive on Goma.
- Al Jazeera
2025-02-18 08:31:20
2025-02-18 08:00:44
7 000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies looted in Bukavu - UN
Although a bloodbath was avoided in Bukavu, the city'sstreets were still littered with rubbish left by residents who took advantageof the confusion to loot humanitarian warehouses, shops and the local brewery.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday said lootersmade off with 7 000 tonnes of humanitarian food supplies at the weekend.
The agency condemned the attack on its Bukavu warehouses ina post on X, saying the food supplies "were meant to provide vital supportto the most vulnerable families who now face a growing humanitarian crisis".
It also urged all parties to the conflict "to respecttheir obligations vis-à-vis international humanitarian law", whichincludes the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.
- Al Jazeera
2025-02-17 19:48:37
Congolese families displaced by ongoing clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo line up as they wait for Rwandan police and immigration officials to allow them to return to the country following the takeover of the Congolese city of Bukavu by the M23 movement at the Rusizi 1 border post in Cyangugu on 17 February 2025.
(Picture by Luis Tato/AFP)
2025-02-17 19:47:07
10 000 DR Congo refugees have entered Burundi: govt
Burundi on Monday said that close to 10 000 people had fled across its western border from the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last three days as Rwanda-backed forces advance there.
"Those who flee are passing through the official border at Gatumba or cross the river Rusizi," said the interior ministry in a statement.
- AFP
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-02-17 11:00:03
DRC fighting risks sparking 'wider regional conflict', says UKgovernment
The UK government on Sunday warned that a growing offensiveby Rwandan-backed fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo risked sparking"a wider regional conflict".
M23 fighters routed the Congolese army to capture the keyprovincial capital of Goma in North Kivu in January.
Then on Friday, the armed group and Rwandan troops marchedlargely unchecked into Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, security andhumanitarian sources said.
"The entrance of M23 and the Rwandan Defence Force intoBukavu is a violation of DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and abreach of the UN Charter," a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said in astatement.
"This is a serious escalation that heightens the riskof a wider regional conflict - the human cost of which would be devastating.
"The UK calls for an immediate cessation ofhostilities, withdrawal of all RDF from Congolese territory and a return todialogue through African-led peace processes. There can be no militarysolution."
- AFP
2025-02-17 10:00:16
Residents walk next to a vehicle with M23 fighters on inBukavu.
M23 fighters and Rwandan troops entered the DR Congoprovincial capital of Bukavu on 14 February 2025, security and humanitariansources said.
The fighters and their Rwandan allies entered the easterncity of around one million people, the capital of South Kivu province, meetingvirtually no resistance after having seized the region's main airport, thesources said.
(Photo by Amani Alimasi/AFP)
2025-02-16 20:58:01
African Union warns against territorial break-up of DR Congo
The African Union (AU) warned on Sunday against the break-up of the Democratic Republic of Congo, two days after the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group entered a second city in the country's east.
"We don't want a balkanisation of eastern DRC," the AU's Peace and Security Commissioner Bankole Adeoye told reporters.
Without mentioning Rwanda, he added: "We are calling for the immediate removal of M23 and their supporters from all towns and cities including Goma airport."
- AFP
READ MORE HERE2025-02-15 13:44:03
UN chief warns against regional war over the Democratic Republic of Congo
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday demanded that the Democratic Republic of Congo's "territorial integrity" be respected and a regional war avoided, at an African summit the day after Rwandan-backed fighters seized a second DRC provincial capital.
With international pressure mounting on Rwanda to curb the fighting in eastern DRC, the conflict was set to dominate the African Union summit as it opened in Addis Ababa.
Having routed the Congolese army to capture the key provincial capital of Goma in North Kivu last month, the Rwandan-backed armed group pushed into neighbouring South Kivu.
It took a vital airport there before marching virtually unchecked into another key city, Bukavu, on Friday, security and humanitarian sources said.
"The fighting that is raging in South Kivu - as a result of the continuation of the M23 offensive - threatens to push the entire region over the precipice," Guterres told leaders in an address to the summit, without mentioning Rwanda.
"Regional escalation must be avoided at all costs. There is no military solution," he added."The dialogue must begin. And the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected."
- AFP
2025-02-15 11:42:30
M23 fighters, Rwandan troops enter DR Congo city of Bukavu, security and humanitarian sources say
M23 fighters and Rwandan troops entered the DR Congo provincial capital of Bukavu on Friday, security, and humanitarian sources said.
The fighters and their Rwandan allies entered the eastern city of around one million people, the capital of South Kivu province, meeting virtually no resistance, having earlier in the day seized the airport serving the area, the sources said.
- AFP
2025-02-08 11:07:51
Kenya urges 'immediate ceasefire' at summit on DRC conflict
Kenyan President William Ruto urged all armed forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to cease hostilities as regional leaders met in Tanzania for a peace summit on Saturday.
"We call on all parties to actualise the ceasefire, and specifically on the M23 to halt further advancement and the armed forces of DRC to cease all retaliatory measures," said Ruto, who is current chair of the East African Community.
"An immediate ceasefire is the only way by which we can create necessary conditions for constructive dialogue and implementation of a comprehensive peace agreement," he added.
- AFP
2025-02-08 08:28:41
Leaders from Eastern and Southern African blocs seek solutions to Congo conflict
Leaders from Eastern and Southern African regional blocs gather in Tanzania on Saturday to seek a solution to the conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels have seized a major city in the worst escalation of fighting in more than a decade.
The M23 rebels last week captured Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite announcing a unilateral ceasefire, they have continued to march south towards Bukavu in a rapid offensive that has left thousands dead and raised fears of a regional conflagration.
Congo's leader Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, who have exchanged fiery words blaming each other's governments for the upsurge in violence, agreed to attend the summit, although Tshisekedi may call in remotely, sources said.
- Reuters
2025-02-08 07:50:44
Rwandan and Congolese leaders to meet over eastern DRC conflict
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was due to meet his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi in Tanzania on Saturday as regional leaders convene in a bid to defuse the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has rapidly seized swathes of territory in the mineral-rich eastern DRC in an offensive that has left thousands dead and displaced vast numbers.
The group took the strategic city of Goma last week and is pushing into the neighbouring South Kivu province in the latest episode of decades-long turmoil in the region.
- AFP
2025-02-07 17:26:54
DR Congo conflict advances as UN warns of regional escalation
The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group was threatening another key town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday as the United Nations warned that the risk of violence spreading regionally had "never been higher".
M23 and Rwandan troops seized the city of Goma last week and are now pushing into the neighbouring South Kivu province.
Thousands have died and huge numbers displaced as they have overtaken swathes of the mineral-rich region, routing DRC troops and their allies in the latest episode of decades-long turmoil in eastern DRC.
Congolese forces were bracing for an assault on the town of Kavumu, which hosts an airport critical to supplying its troops, according to security, humanitarian and local sources.
- AFP
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-02-06 09:14:14
At least 2 900 dead in M23 capture of east DRC's Goma, saysUN
Clashes last week in the eastern Congolese city of Goma,which saw the M23 armed group and Rwandan forces seize control, have left atleast 2 900 people dead, a United Nations official said on Wednesday.
"So far, 2 000 bodies have been collected from the Gomastreets in recent days, and 900 bodies remain in the morgues of the Gomahospitals," Vivian van de Perre, deputy chief of the UN peacekeepingmission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), told a video newsconference.
- AFP
2025-02-05 19:58:23
Malawi orders troops to prepare withdrawal from eastern Congo
Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered defence forces to begin preparations for a withdrawal of its troops from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a statement said on Wednesday.
The Malawi troops are part of a contingent of soldiers from the Southern African regional bloc deployed in Congo to help it tackle armed insurgents.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) extended the military mission late last year.
"President Chakwera has ordered the MDF (Malawi Defence Force) commander to begin preparations for the withdrawal of Malawian troops... to honour the declaration of a ceasefire by the warring parties there and to pave the way for their planned negotiations towards a lasting peace," the statement said.
- Reuters
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-02-05 16:02:38
M23, Rwanda troops launch fresh east DR Congo offensive: security sources
M23 fighters and Rwandan forces on Wednesday launched a new offensive in eastern DR Congo, seizing the mining town of Nyabibwe, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the provincial capital Bukavu, security and humanitarian sources said.
Intense clashes broke out at dawn between the anti-government armed group with its Rwandan allies and Congolese armed forces, the sources said, a day after a humanitarian ceasefire unilaterally announced by the M23 was due to have taken effect.
- AFP
2025-02-04 15:42:36
Ramaphosa ignores Kagame's spokesperson's claim the president has mining interests in DRC
President Cyril Ramaphosa has decided to ignore Rwandan President Paul Kagame's spokesperson Yolande Makolo's claims that he deployed SA National Defence Force soldiers to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to protect his personal mining interests, according to senior government officials.
Makolo made the claim on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) without providing any evidence to back them up.
Senior government sources said Ramaphosa intended to ignore the claim.
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-02-03 19:43:49
Rwanda's Kagame will attend regional summit on eastern Congo conflict
Rwandan President Paul Kagame will attend a joint summit for eastern and southern African leaders in Tanzania on February 7-8 to discuss the conflict in eastern Congo, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said on Monday.
- Reuters
TAP HERE FOR MORE2025-02-03 17:43:43
Southern and East African leaders to hold joint summit on Congo conflict
The regional blocs of southern and eastern Africa will hold a joint summit in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, on 7-8 February to discuss the conflict in eastern Congo, Kenya's President William Ruto said on Monday.
- Reuters
2025-02-03 13:14:15
Ramaphosa says he 'will not let up' support for DR Congo
President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed on Monday to continueproviding support to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the face of nationwidecalls to withdraw troops following the death of 14 South African soldiers.
"Achieving a lasting peace and security for the easternDRC and the region requires the collective will of the community ofnations," Ramaphosa said in a statement.
He added that "South Africa will not let up in itssupport to the people of the DRC."
- AFP
2025-02-02 20:25:13
Tanzanian army confirms two soldiers killed in DRC
Two Tanzanian soldiers have been killed in clashes in the last 10 days in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the army confirmed on Sunday.
The offensive by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group, which has captured the major city of Goma and promised to march on to capital Kinshasa, has rattled international observers.
It is the latest escalation in a mineral-rich region bedevilled by decades of fighting involving dozens of armed groups.
Tanzanian Peoples Defence Force (TPDF) soldiers had been deployed under the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional bloc operating in eastern DR Congo.
"Following a series of attacks in the areas of Sake and Goma carried out by M23 rebels on the 24th and 28th of January 2025, JWTZ has lost two soldiers," army spokesperson Gaudentius Ilonda said, using the Swahili abbreviation for the TPDF.
He confirmed that four others had been wounded and were currently receiving treatment in Goma.
Ilonda said the remaining units - without giving any further details - "continue to carry out their duties under the guidance of SADC".
Preparations were underway to repatriate the bodies of the Tanzanian soldiers, he added.
So far 14 South Africans, three Malawians, and a Uruguayan national have died in the DR Congo clashes.
Earlier this week, SADC called for a joint summit with the eight-country East African Community (EAC) over the crisis.
On Sunday, Rwanda said it would welcome such a meeting, while also criticising SADC's involvement in DRC.
-AFP
2025-02-01 22:40:17
DRC conflict: SA death toll now at 14, SANDF releases names
The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) released the names of the soldiers who lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during combat against the M23 rebels.
The SANDF also indicated that the death toll had risen to 14.
SABC News reported that the death toll had risen to 14 after an injured soldier died in hospital.
Dlamini said the 14 were part of the SANDF contingent deployed to the region as part of both the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) and the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Monusco).
Dlamini said the soldiers displayed "extraordinary courage in their confrontation with the M23 rebels who had attacked their base".
- Tankiso Makhetha
READ MORE HERE2025-02-01 21:19:54
DR Congo conflict risks broader regional war, Burundi warns
The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo risks escalating into a broader regional war, Burundi's president said on Saturday, as Africa's top health agency warned the fighting could spark new outbreaks of serious diseases.
The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 has vowed to march on the capital Kinshasa after capturing eastern DRC's biggest city of Goma earlier this week.
The lightning offensive is the latest to scar the mineral-rich region, which has seen relentless conflict involving dozens of armed groups kill an estimated six million people over three decades.
The fall of Goma has rattled the continent, prompting international condemnation and fears of a humanitarian crisis.
- AFP
READ MORE HERE2025-02-01 15:53:40
Congo's health ministry says 773 bodies in Goma hospital morgues
There were 773 bodies in hospital morgues in and around the eastern city of Goma as of 30 January following an offensive by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels this week, the Democratic Republic of Congo's health ministry said on Saturday.
Morgues have exceeded their capacity and there are more bodies still lying in the streets, the ministry said.
It said that 2 880 wounded were recorded between 26 January and 30 January.
- Reuters
2025-01-31 22:18:02
Southern African summit announces 'unwavering' support for DRC
Southern African leaders gave "unwavering" backing on Friday to the Democratic Republic of Congo after advances by the Rwanda-backed M23 group which captured the biggest city in its mineral-rich east.
An extraordinary summit of the regional SADC grouping "reaffirmed its solidarity and unwavering commitment to continue supporting the DRC in its pursuit of safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity," executive secretary Elias Magosi said.
- AFP
2025-01-31 20:07:23
Rwanda-backed M23 advances in DRC as volunteers rally to fight back
After seizing the biggest city in eastern DR Congo, the Rwandan-backed armed group M23 was advancing south through a neighbouring province on Friday, as young men volunteered to fight against it alongside the struggling Congolese army.
The group took Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, after intense fighting earlier this week and has vowed to march to the capital, Kinshasa.
The weeks-long offensive has marked a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen relentless conflict involving dozens of armed groups claim the lives of an estimated six million people over three decades.
The Democratic Republic of Congo accuses Rwanda of seeking to profit from the region's wealth of minerals used in global electronics - a claim backed by UN experts who say Kigali has "de facto control" over the M23.
- AFP
READ MORE HERE2025-01-31 15:13:00
UN decries 'summary executions', rapes amid DR Congo fighting
The UN on Friday voiced alarm at rampant violence in eastern DR Congo, as the M23 armed group moves pushes deeper into the country, warning of summary executions and widespread rapes.
The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier in the week was a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.
The United Nations on Thursday said it was "deeply concerned" by "credible reports" that the Rwandan-backed M23 was advancing south from Goma to Bukavu - capital of the neighbouring South Kivu province.
UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence said since the start of the crisis, bombs had struck at least two sites housing internally displaced people (IDPs), "causing civilian casualties".
"We have also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January," he told reporters in Geneva.
In areas under M23 control in South Kivu, like Minova, he said the group had "occupied schools and hospitals, forced IDPs out of camps and subjected the civilian population to forced conscription and forced labour".
- AFP
2025-01-31 06:11:37
Diplomatic strain intensifies between South Africa and Rwanda over DRC conflict
The South African government went to ground on Thursday after a war of words ensued between President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Rwandan counterpart, President Paul Kagame.
Insiders told News24 that Pretoria did not want to "fuel tensions" between South Africa and Rwanda by responding to Kagame.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said diplomatic channels remained open between the two countries.
READ MORE2025-01-30 20:58:38
New abnormal begins for east DR Congo's looted Goma after siege
Strewn with rubble from mortar and artillery fire, the eastern DR Congo city of Goma awoke on Thursday to a new abnormal - hiding from bandits and counting the dead.
Fighting has all but ceased between Congolese soldiers and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, which captured most of Goma on Sunday - a dramatic escalation in a mineral-rich region of the Democratic Republic of Congo that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.
Traffic returned to the centre of the city, capital of North Kivu province, on Thursday under the watchful gaze of M23 patrols.
Pedestrians walked around bodies left from days of fierce combat that drove the Congolese army out of the city.
- AFP
READ MORE 2025-01-30 19:19:12
Trump says crisis between Rwanda and DRC is a 'very serious problem'
US President Donald Trump on Thursday described the crisis between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo as a "very serious problem."
During a news conference about an air collision in Washington, Trump was asked if he had a plan to bring peace in DRC, where a conflict in the east of the country - that Washington, the UN and others say involves Rwanda - has escalated.
"You're asking me a question about Rwanda, and it is a very serious problem, I agree, but I don't think it's appropriate right now to talk about it. But it is a very serious problem," he told reporters.
- Reuters
2025-01-30 19:17:30
Rwandan-backed M23 continues to advance south in DRC
The Rwandan-backed M23 group is advancing further south in DR Congo, local and humanitarian sources told AFP on Thursday, after the group vowed it would march all the way to the capital Kinshasa.
The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has long been roiled by armed groups, but the resurgence and success of the M23 group has shaken the region and provoked international concern.
M23 seized two areas without a fight on Wednesday before advancing on Kalehe town, on Lake Kivu.
The hub is the key transit point for Goma to the north and South Kivu's capital city Bukavu, which could also come under threat if M23 continue to push south.
"The fighting is concentrated around the mining town of Nyabibwe," roughly 100 km north of Bukavu, a civil society representative told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
The Congolese armed forces (FARDC), assisted by local militias and Burundian soldiers, have been deployed in the region, local and humanitarian sources said.
In South Kivu, the Congolese army has established its main line of defence in Kavumu city, which has an airfield.
Meanwhile, some of the Goma-based Congolese forces driven out by M23 have taken refuge in Bukavu.
On Thursday, a representative of the group said the advance would continue "all the way to Kinshasa."
- AFP
READ MORE HERE2025-01-30 17:57:49
French foreign minister arrives in Rwanda after DR Congo visit
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot landed in Rwanda on Thursday to discuss the crisis in eastern DR Congo with President Paul Kagame, an AFP journalist witnessed.
Barrot, who was in Kinshasa earlier in the day, would in Kigali call for the "withdrawal of Rwandan troops" from the mineral-rich east of neighbouring DR Congo, where they have been backing the M23 armed group, according to the French foreign ministry.
- AFP
2025-01-30 17:53:40
DR Congo conflict raises risk of pandemic: Africa health agency
The fighting in eastern DR Congo raises the risk of a new pandemic, the head of Africa's health agency warned on Thursday, calling for an end to the "unnecessary war".
The Rwanda-backed armed group M23 has been advancing across the Democratic Republic of Congo's troubled east, which has been the scene of numerous infectious disease outbreaks.
Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), urged African and global leaders to "stop this unnecessary war that can create a lot of issues in terms of public health".
The clade 1b variant of mpox, which has been recorded in many countries across the world in recent months, first emerged in DRC's South Kivu province in 2023.
M23 seized control of most of Goma, capital of the neighbouring province of North Kivu, earlier this week. It has since advanced into South Kivu, its leaders vowing on Thursday to advance all the way to the capital Kinshasa.
The fighting has overwhelmed hospitals and "broken" health infrastructure in Goma, which has been suffering power and internet outages as well as serious shortages of food, water and medicine, Kaseya told reporters.
- AFP
2025-01-30 17:30:00
Rwanda-backed M23 pledges to 'march all the way to Kinshasa'
The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group vowed on Thursday to "continue the march of liberation" to the DR Congo capital Kinshasa, as its fighters made further advances in the mineral-rich east of the country.\
The group's capture of most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, is a dramatic escalation in a region that has seen decades of conflict involving multiple armed groups.
Rwanda says its primary interest is to eradicate fighters linked to the 1994 genocide, but it is accused of seeking to profit from the region's reserves of minerals used in global electronics.
- AFP
READ MORE2025-01-30 16:03:33
Southern African bloc calls emergency summit on DR Congo crisis for Friday
The southern African regional group SADC said it will hold a special summit on the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday in the Zimbabwean capital.
The extraordinary session of the Southern African Development Community will "discuss matters of Eastern DRC, which is a worrying situation", its executive secretary Elias Magosi said, after Rwanda-backed fighters wrested control of most of the region's main city, Goma, in a lighting offensive.
- AFP
2025-01-30 15:29:36
French minister undertaking diplomatic mission to Congo and Rwanda to help mediation
France's foreign minister was undertaking a diplomatic mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda as part of efforts to prevent an escalation after M23 rebels, backed by Rwandan troops, marched into the eastern Congolese city of Goma.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said on Thursday that minister Jean-Noel Barrot's mission came after President Emmanuel Macron had spoken to his counterparts, Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame.
Barrot's mission was to support the ongoing Luanda and Nairobi mediation efforts, added the spokesperson.
"Regarding the conflict in eastern DRC, once again, France condemns the offensive by the M23 and Rwandan forces," said Lemoine, who is the penholder at the United Nations Security Council.
"The M23 must immediately withdraw from the territories it has taken control of. Rwandan forces must urgently leave the territory of the DRC. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC are not negotiable."
- Reuters
2025-01-30 14:48:33
WATCH | Kinshasa needs to govern eastern DRC better, says former president Mbeki as tensions rise
Former president Thabo Mbeki says that for as long as the Democratic Republic of Congo refuses to look after the Rwandan-speaking Congolese population in the eastern part of the country, then military groups like M23 will continue to exist.
Mbeki shared his thoughts on the current conflict in the Eastern DRC on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) on Thursday morning.
The former president also said part of the problem in the country is that the Congolese did not have the capacity to govern the eastern part of the Congo, which is why military groups such as M23 emerged.
WATCH HERE2025-01-30 13:31:21
2025-01-30 13:30:48
2025-01-30 12:43:41
Sikonathi Mantshantsha | What exactly are our SANDF troops doing in the DRC?
South Africa has deployed troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for more than 20 years. Sikonathi Mantshantsha asks why are they dying in a perpetual conflict in an open-ended deployment of no obvious strategic gain.
READ MORE2025-01-30 12:42:38
'He would have come home last weekend' – says family of SANDF soldier killed in DRC
Sergeant William Eddy Cola, who was a National Defence Force soldier for more than 20 years, was among 13 soldiers killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Cola's uncle, Pastor Ronnie Felix, expressed deep sorrow and heartbreak over his death.
Meanwhile, Rwandan president Paul Kagame publicly criticised SA President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of spreading misinformation about the situation in Eastern DRC.
READ MORE2025-01-30 11:58:08
Kagame vs Ramaphosa: 'Your president put out lies that our president had to correct'
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of lying about the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo has doubled down on Kagame's accusations, saying Ramaphosa "put out lies" that Kagame had to correct.
The diplomatic spat emanates from a statement released by Ramaphosa on the SANDF soldiers killed in the DRC.
READ MORE2025-01-30 11:00:00
Rwanda fires back after Pretoria warns it of war
The SA National Defence Force is in the DRC to protect genocidal forces, Rwanda's foreign minister said on Wednesday.
That was in response to a stark warning from SA: if Rwanda attacks its peacekeepers, that would be a declaration of war.
Earlier in the day, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Rwandan defence force had invaded the DRC and attacked SA soldiers.
READ MORE HERE2025-01-30 10:05:17
'Diplomatic channels remain open,' says Dirco despite spat between Kagame and Ramaphosa
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has said lines remain open between Pretoria and Kigali.
This follows a social media exchange between President Cyril Rampahosa and Rwandan president Paul Kagame.
International relations experts say the exchange is unprecedented.
READ MORE2025-01-30 10:05:12
'If SA prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter': Kagame lambasts Ramaphosa over DRC
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has lashed out at President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying his military was not involved in an attack on SA soldiers.
Thirteen SANDF members were killed in eastern DRC this week.
Kagame claimed that the mission involving South African troops had "displaced a true peacekeeping force".
