Rebels Kill Six in East DRC
- According to local officials, rebels associated with the Islamic State group attacked a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and killed at least six people (VOA)
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Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Dozens of Bodies Found in Eastern DRC
- At least sixty bodies were found across several villages in North Kivu province; M23 rebels killed residents in villages in the Rutshuru territory days before the discovery of the bodies (VOA)
Dozens Killed in Village Attacks
- In the province of Ituri, local advocates and journalists reported that an armed group, suspected to be the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO), killed about thirty people and burned and looted property; since 2017, there have been several organized attacks on communities in Ituri (Al Jazeera)
Twenty Killed in Eastern Congo
- Twenty people were killed in a village on the outskirts of Beni in an attack suspected to be by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State; the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Telegram channel (Reuters)
Ugandan Troops in DRC to Join Regional Force
- According to an army official and witnesses, a thousand Ugandan soldiers serving with an East African regional military group entered the border town of Bunagana in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo; the soldiers are in the DRC to supervise the withdrawal of the M23 rebel group and act as a “neutral force” according to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (AFP)
UN Envoy: Security Situation in Eastern Congo Deteriorating
- The UN envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) told the Security Council that the escalating conflict in eastern Congo between various armed groups and government forces has “deteriorated considerably” and worsened the humanitarian situation (UN News)
DRC President Reshuffles Cabinet
- President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Félix Tshisekedi installed multiple new ministers, including a former vice president who was jailed for eleven years for war crimes; the changes come amid rising insecurity and ahead of elections later this year (The East African)
DRC: Smuggling Costs Country $1bn Annually
- DRC’s finance minister said the country was losing nearly $1bn a year in illegally smuggled minerals to Rwanda, which exported a billion dollars’ worth of minerals last year despite having few mineral deposits of its own (FT)
Armed Groups Displaced Over One Hundred Thousand
- In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, more than one hundred thousand people were displaced by armed group attacks in North Kivu province, according to a UN report (UN News)
UN Security Council Delegation Concludes DRC Visit
- A delegation from the UN Security Council concluded a three-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) yesterday, where it called for a negotiated end to a security crisis involving the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group; a cease-fire planned to take effect last week fell through, and shelling on Saturday killed five people (AFP)
Congolese Rebels Clash With Security Forces Despite Scheduled Cease-Fire
- For the past two days, fighters from the rebel March 23 Movement (M23) have clashed with soldiers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; a cease-fire was due to take effect yesterday (AFP)
DRC President Says Violence Could Delay December Elections
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi warned of the potential delay during a news conference with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron; Tshisekedi urged Macron and the EU to support a peace plan to stem surging violence in the eastern Congo (Bloomberg)
UN Suspends Humanitarian Flights in Two Congo Provinces After Attack
- The World Food Program said the flights in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri Provinces were suspended after unidentified assailants attacked a UN Humanitarian Air Service helicopter on Friday (Reuters)
UN: $2.25 Billion Needed for Victims of DRC Displacement
- In the last year, more than six hundred thousand people have been uprooted from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid an upswing in violence linked to the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group, the UN coordinator for the country said (Reuters)
Rwanda: DRC Soldiers Attacked Army Border Post
- A brief exchange of fire erupted at a Rwandan border checkpoint as soldiers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo entered the neutral zone close to the western province of Rusizi, according to the Rwandan military; DRC authorities have denied the accusation (Al Jazeera)
Militia Attack Kills Twenty-Two
- A local official and a human rights group said a militia killed twenty-two people in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province in two separate attacks; ten people were killed in the first attack on the town of Mongbwalu, and twelve villagers were killed in the second attack in the Irumu territory (VOA)
Seven DRC Soldiers Receive Death Sentence
- A court in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced seven soldiers to death for fleeing during the advancement of M23 rebels and causing the death of two people by recklessly discharging their arms (BBC)
UN Troops Kill Eight Civilians in Convoy Attack
- The governor of North Kivu province said United Nations peacekeepers fired “warning shots” after civilians attacked their supply convoy in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); eight civilians were killed, and twenty-eight were wounded as a result (Al Jazeera)
- In a town near the major eastern Congo city of Goma, hundreds of civilians fled after heavy gunfire raised fears and concerns about the advance of M23 troops (Reuters)
Opposition Parties Claim DRC Voter Registration is Flawed
- Opposition candidates have raised concerns over delays and alleged irregularities in voter registration; a CENI election commission document showed some many centers were closed or not operational as of February 1, with only 52 percent of forecasted voters registered in the registration zone of ten provinces that includes the capital Kinshasa (Reuters)
M23 Rebels Seize Kitshanga
- After days of fighting, M23 rebels seized control of Kitshanga in the eastern DRC, drawing condemnation from the UN; Lawrence Kanyuka, M23′s political spokesman, accused government troops of attacking civilians and said M23 was “obliged to intervene and stop another genocide” (Al Jazeera)
On Africa Tour, Pope Francis Criticizes ‘Economic Colonialism’
- Pope Francis presided over mass for an estimated one million people in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kinshasa, today as part of a six-day tour through the DRC and South Sudan (WaPo)
- In a speech yesterday, Francis criticized the “economic colonialism” he said has replaced overt political exploitation in the region; he has also repeatedly called for peace in the long-running conflict in the eastern DRC (NYT)
Pope Begins Tour of Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan
- Pope Francis is expected to call for peace in both conflict-stricken countries and highlight a “colonialist mentality” among foreign powers that seek to exploit African countries (AP)
DRC Military Plane Allegedly Violates Rwandan Airspace
- Rwanda’s government said it shot at a fighter jet from the Democratic Republic of Congo that violated its airspace (Reuters)
- Tensions over the M23 rebel insurgency have strained relations between the countries; Congolese military planes have entered Rwandan airspace three times in recent months, according to a spokesperson from the Rwandan government (Bloomberg)
Rwandan President Threatens To Evict DRC Refugees
- In a speech, President Paul Kagame said Rwanda will evict thousands of Congolese refugees if his government continues to be accused of supporting rebels in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (VOA)
UN Flags Potential Cease-Fire Violation by Rebels in Northern Congo
- Internal UN documents seen by Reuters showed that rebels from the March 23 Movement (M23) could be active in parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that they had pledged to withdraw from by December 23 (Reuters)