Hospitals in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are overwhelmed by a surge in COVID-19 cases, President Felix Tshisekedi said. The country has administered fewer than thirty thousand vaccine doses (Reuters)
Volcano Eruption in DRC Displaces Tens of Thousands
An eruption of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano near the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo displaced more than twenty-five thousand people and killed at least fifteen. Nyiragongo is one of the most active volcanoes in the world (Associated Press)
DRC Orders Military Control of Two Regions
The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, ordered the military to take control of two violence-plagued eastern provinces he said are under a “state of siege” (Agence France-Presse)
Separately, the country’s health minister declared an end to the DRC’s twelfth Ebola outbreak (Nation)
Democratic Republic of Congo Installs New Government
President Felix Tshisekedi strengthened his hold on power in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a new government was installed with relatively few holdovers from the previous administration. Many of the new cabinet members are under forty years old (Reuters)
Separately, ten people were killed and thirty-four were injured in fighting between ethnic communities in eastern Congo. The fighting broke out amidst protests against the UN peacekeeping mission (Reuters)
Military Operation Kills Thirty-Three in DRC
At least thirty-three people were killed in a military operation against an armed group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Five civilians, a soldier, and twenty-seven members of the Cooperation for the Development of Congo (CODECO) militia were killed in the operation in Ituri province (Agence France-Presse)
ICC Pays Reparations to Victims of War Crimes in the DRC
The International Criminal Court (ICC) will pay $30 million in total to the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including sexual slavery, that it previously convicted rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda of committing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than one hundred thousand people could be eligible for compensation (Al Jazeera)
Separately, he Biden administration reimposed sanctions placed on Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler for aiding corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congolese and human rights groups called for the reversal of the sanction waiver signed by the Trump administration in a secret action in January (Al Jazeera)
DRC: Rwandan Rebels Killed Italian Ambassador
The Democratic Republic of Congo said it suspects that an exiled Rwandan Hutu militia killed Italy’s ambassador to the DRC and two others in an attack in North Kivu Province yesterday. Investigations are ongoing (East African)
Italy’s Ambassador to DRC Killed in Attack on UN Convoy
Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, his bodyguard, and a driver from the World Food Programme were killed in an attack on their convoy in the eastern part of the country (Reuters)
Overnight Raid Kills Ten in Democratic Republic of Congo
Ten people were killed in an attack attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters)
UN Warns of Crimes Against Humanity in DRC
Violence committed by the Allied Democratic Forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo could amount to crimes against humanity, the UN human rights office said. In 2020, attacks by the armed group killed at least 849 civilians in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu (UN News Service)
DRC Lawmakers Vote Out Prime Minister
Lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo voted to oust Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba. The move was the latest in a political power struggle between President Felix Tshisekedi and officials, such as Ilunga Ilunkamba, who are loyal to former President Joseph Kabila (Agence France-Presse)
Militia Attacks Kill Six Park Rangers in DRC
At least six rangers were killed yesterday in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park, which is home to about one-quarter of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. Officials blamed the attack on local militias (Agence France-Presse)
Clashes Continue in DRC Parliament
Fighting between supporters of President Felix Tshisekedi and those of his predecessor Joseph Kabila broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Parliament. It was the second day of clashes after Tshisekedi warned over the weekend that he could be forced to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections (Agence France-Presse)
DRC Declares End to Latest Ebola Outbreak
The Democratic Republic of Congo declared an end to its latest outbreak of Ebola fifty days after the last case was reported. It was the country’s eleventh outbreak in forty-four years and killed fifty-five people (Nation)
Allied Democratic Forces Free 1,300 Prisoners in DRC
More than 1,300 prisoners escaped from a jail in the city of Beni following an attack by suspected Islamist rebels affiliated with the Allied Democratic Forces, officials said (BBC)
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack (New York Times)
Militia Attacks in DRC Kills Nearly Sixty
Two attacks this week in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Ituri province killed fifty-eight people, according to a government official; the Allied Democratic Forces militant group is suspected of carrying out the attacks on civilians (Agence France-Presse)
DRC Ebola Outbreak Surpasses 2018 Outbreak
An outbreak of Ebola in the western part of the country is now worse than a 2018 outbreak in the region, World Health Organization officials said, calling for additional funds to combat the disease. There are now fifty-six cases (New York Times)
WHO Raises Alarm on Ebola Outbreak in DRC
The World Health Organization (WHO) is raising alarms about a growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which ended its tenth Ebola outbreak last month (Al Jazeera)
DRC Declares End to Ebola Outbreak
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that lasted nearly two years and killed at least 2,280 people is over, the country’s health minister said. It was the second-largest Ebola outbreak in the world and the tenth outbreak in the DRC (Washington Post)
Ebola Resurfaces in DRC
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo announced new cases of Ebola in the western city of Mbandaka. Six cases have been reported, resulting in four deaths (Reuters)
DRC Militia Announces Plans to Disarm
The Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militant group said it would cease fighting in the country’s northeast and called for a dialogue with the government (Reuters)
DRC Sets Date for Disarmament of Northeastern Militia
The Democratic Republic of the Congo stated yesterday that it would begin disarmament procedures for the Ituri Patriotic Resistance Front, a militia group based in the country’s northeastern Ituri province, on May 5. The militia ratified a peace agreement with the government in late February but could not immediately disarm due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Anadolu)
Ambush at DRC National Park Kills Seventeen
An ambush at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park killed seventeen people, including twelve park rangers. The park blamed members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militant group for the attack (New York Times)
Ebola Patient Escapes Clinic in DRC
An Ebola patient ran away from a clinic in the Democratic Republic of Congo town of Beni, prompting health officials to warn that he could cause further spread of the virus (Reuters)
Attacks in Eastern DRC Kill Dozens
Two attacks linked to two different militia groups in the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo killed more than thirty people, officials said yesterday (Al Jazeera)