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Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Islamic State-Linked Rebels Kill at Least Twelve People

  • The Congolese Army responded to the Islamic State-linked attackers’ raid in the eastern border area, killing four and rescuing four kidnapped civilians (AP)

DRC Names First Female Prime Minister

  • Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi named Judith Suminwa, a former planning minister and UN official, as premier; in her first speech, Suminwa pledged to address conflict and insecurity in the country (Nation)

DRC, Rwandan Leaders to Attend Meeting on Conflict

  • Angola’s foreign minister said the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have agreed to discuss the conflict in eastern DRC; Angola is serving as a mediator for the African Union and will set the date for the discussion (AFP)

DRC Government Dissolves

  • Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde’s resignation triggered the dissolution of his government, an official dispatch said; President Félix Tshisekedi asked Lukonde to remain as a caretaker leader in a limited capacity as he forms a new government for his second term (East African)
  • Meanwhile, local authorities said the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), linked to the Islamic State (IS), killed thirteen people in Ituri Province and at least eleven in a neighboring province of North Kivu, targeting most of the victims in their homes (AP)

Bombing Kills Two, Wounds Three South African Soldiers at Military Base

  • A bomb attack on a military base in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) killed two South African soldiers today, South Africa’s military said; another 2,900 South African troops will soon join its current contingent in the Congo to fight armed groups, Pretoria said earlier this week (Reuters)

Bombing Attack on Zaina Displacement Camp Kills Three People

  • The rebels also injured eight others at the camp in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province, only sixteen miles from the country’s humanitarian hub, Goma; the M23 rebel group did not claim responsibility for the attack (AP)

Protesters Target Embassies, Burn U.S. and Belgian Flags in DRC

  • Demonstrators gathered near Western embassies and UN offices in the capital of Kinasha to protest Western support for Rwanda, which is believed to be backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group; demonstrators also attacked UN staff and vehicles before being dispersed by the police (Reuters)

South Africa to Deploy Nearly Three Thousand Troops to DRC

  • The yearlong deployment of 2,900 troops will help the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) battle armed groups; the deployment will supplement the South African troops already in the DRC as part of efforts to battle the M23 rebel group and comes at a time when UN peacekeepers are preparing to withdraw from the region (Bloomberg)

DRC Government: M23 Launches Indiscriminate Bombings on Goma

  • Goma is a major humanitarian hub; the UN under-secretary-general for peace operations called on M23 to “immediately cease its offensive in eastern DRC” after a trip to the region this week (AP)

M23-Launched Rocket Lands Near University

  • The strike by a Tutsi-led rebel group left an explosion crater in the Congolese city of Goma but no casualties, pointing to further possible threats to the city of two million (Reuters)

Attack on UN Helicopter Injures Two Peacekeepers in Eastern Congo

  • A United Nations spokesperson said they assume the M23 rebel group is responsible for the attack; the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo asserted it would not spare any effort to bring responsible parties to justice for the possible war crime (AP)

Rwandan Forces Report Killing, Arrests of Congolese Soldiers

  • The Rwandan military said that its forces killed one soldier and arrested two others from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after Congolese soldiers crossed into Rwandan territory and one shot at a Rwandan patrol; tensions between the countries have run high in recent years as the DRC has accused Rwanda of backing DRC rebels (Reuters)

DRC Court Certifies Results of Vote That Reelected President

  • The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) constitutional court certified (AFP) President Félix Tshisekedi’s election victory on December 20 with 73.5 percent of votes, despite nine opposition candidates calling the election a “sham” and asking for a re-run (AFP)

Congo Election Invalidates Votes Cast for Eighty-Two Candidates in December Race

  • Election authorities have still not released full results for the December 20 election, but they announced that a probe into alleged fraud and other irregularities led to the votes being suspended (Reuters)
  • President Félix Tshisekedi won the presidency in a landslide victory; the opposition has contested the vote and has asked for a re-run (VoA)

DRC Opposition Protests Election Results Despite Government Ban

  • Opposition protesters violently clashed with security forces in the capital, Kinshasa, after the government banned a planned demonstration alleging irregularities and attempted vote rigging in last week’s presidential election; incumbent President Félix Tshisekedi has a strong lead, according to a preliminary count (Bloomberg)

Conflict-Ridden, Mineral-Rich DRC Holds Presidential Vote

  • Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi is facing off against some eighteen challengers in today’s presidential and legislative elections; reports of incomplete voting lists and long lines at the polls have prompted concerns that candidates could challenge the credibility of the vote (NYT)
  • Tshisekedi’s own election in 2018 was marred by allegations by opposition candidate Martin Fayulu that official results were doctored; official results could take several days (Economist)
  • Amid an ongoing conflict in the country’s east that has displaced around 7 million people, at least 1.5 million Congolese are not expected to vote (Al Jazeera)
  • The polls opened after the UN Security Council agreed yesterday to start withdrawing its peacekeeping force in the area and transferring responsibilities to the country’s government by year’s end; the results are being closely watched by DRC’s neighbors and worldwide, in part because the country is rich in both cobalt, a critical mineral for the energy transition, and tropical rain forests (AP)

Congo Government, Rebel Groups Agree to Cease-Fire Ahead of Election

  • The United States announced the deal for a three-day truce between government forces and rebel groups occupying part of Eastern Congo; it comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo prepares to hold a presidential vote on December 20 (AP)

DRC President Compares Rwandan Counterpart to Hitler

  • While speaking at a campaign rally in eastern DRC, President Felix Tshisekedi said Paul Kagame “will end up like Hitler” due to his support for rebels in the DRC; a Rwandan government spokesperson said the comment was “a loud and clear threat” (BBC)

East African Force Begins Withdrawal From DRC

  • The East African Community regional bloc started pulling out its troops today following Kinshasa’s refusal to renew its mandate; the bloc first sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in November 2022 in response to the resurgence of the M23 rebel group (AFP)

Election Campaigning Begins in DRC

  • Twenty-six candidates, including incumbent president Félix Tshisekedi, are running for the top office, and more than one hundred thousand are running in provincial and municipal elections that are scheduled for December 20 (AFP)

DRC Signs Deal for SADC Force Deployment

  • Under the agreement, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will send troops to support the Congolese military in fighting M23 and other groups in the east of the country (East African)

ADF Militants Reportedly Kill Nineteen Civilians in Eastern Congo

  • Civil society leaders said the attackers tied up and killed civilians in a village in Beni territory, sending other residents fleeing across the Lamia River, where some may have drowned; the Congolese military blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group that has pledged allegiance to the self-declared Islamic State (Al Jazeera)

DRC and UN Launch Joint Operation to Secure Area Around Goma

  • In Operation Springbok, government troops and peacekeepers are patrolling the area around the North Kivu capital to reinforce security after M23 and other armed groups stepped up attacks in the province (AP)

IOM: Record 6.9 Million People Internally Displaced in the DRC

  • The intensified conflict between rebels and government-aligned militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has led to one of the largest internal displacement and humanitarian crises in the world, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said; since October 1, nearly two hundred thousand people have fled their homes in eastern Congo (AFP)

Rebels Kill Two Ugandan Soldiers and Two Civilians in Eastern DRC Attack

  • The Allied Democratic Forces, backed by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the attack in North Kivu province; Congolese and Ugandan forces have undertaken joint operations to destroy rebel strongholds in the area since 2021, but attacks continue (AFP)