The Democratic Republic of Congo recorded a new death from the Ebola virus on Friday, two days before the country was due to declare an official end to its outbreak. Another death from the virus was recorded yesterday (Reuters)
DRC Discharges Final Ebola Patient
The last patient being treated for the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo was sent home from the hospital, and no new cases of the virus have been reported since February 17. The outbreak will be declared over if forty-two days pass with no new cases (Al Jazeera)
Rebel Group Attacks Town in Northeastern DRC
Rebels allegedly belonging to the Allied Democratic Fighters raided the town of Mangina in the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday, killing at least twelve people (Al Jazeera)
Attack in DRC Kills Twenty
At least twenty people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Beni region, in an attack by suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) (Agence France-Presse)
Dozens Killed in Eastern DRC Attack
An attack in the eastern Beni region of the Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday killed at least thirty-six people, according to local officials. Militants affiliated with the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who the DRC military has been targeting in a series of operations since late last year, are suspected of being behind the attack (Agence France-Presse)
Thousands Dead in DRC Measles Outbreak
Six thousand people have died in a measles outbreak that began last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization announced. The organization called for an increase in funding to address the disease (World Health Organization)
Attack in Eastern DRC Kills Eighteen
At least eighteen people were killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Beni region; local officials blamed Islamist militants affiliated with the Allied Democratic Forces (Agence France-Presse)
Congolese Families Sue Tech Giants Over Child Labor
The group of families from the Democratic Republic of Congo sued companies including Apple, Google, and Microsoft in a U.S. court, saying children had been killed or injured mining cobalt used in the companies’ products, and that the companies had “specific knowledge” that their cobalt was linked to hazardous child labor (Guardian)
Rebel Leader Reportedly Killed in DRC
Army officials for the Democratic Republic of Congo said the country’s military killed Mouhamed Mukubwa Islam, a top leader of the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (Al Jazeera)
Militants Kill Eight in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Eight people were killed after armed militants from the Allied Democratic Forces attacked civilians in Beni. Following the attack, residents took to city hall, burning down part of the building in protest (Daily Nation)
Militants in DRC Kill Nineteen, Burn Church
At least nineteen people were killed, several people were kidnapped, and a church was burned down during two separate attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo; officials said militants affiliated with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were responsible (Reuters)
Congolese Court Issues Life Sentence to Infamous Warlord
A Congolese court sentenced warlord Frederic Masudi Alimasi to life in prison for crimes against humanity that include murder and sexual violence, according to lawyers in the case (Reuters)
Militia Kills Fifteen in DRC
Suspected militants affiliated with the Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed fifteen civilians in a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend. More than forty civilians have been killed in the past week after the DRC military and UN peacekeepers launched an offensive in late October against the ADF (Reuters)
Fourteen Killed in DRC Mine Collapse
At least fourteen people were killed after an unauthorized gold mine in the country’s east collapsed, according to a government minister (BBC)
UN Chief Talks Security, Ebola Response in DRC
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the UN mission in the country will increase its capacity to combat militant groups and will boost cooperation with government forces (United Nations)
He called on donors who have pledged aid to help fight the Ebola outbreak to honor their commitments (United Nations)
DRC Announces New Government
Congolese Prime Minister Ilunga Ilukamba unveiled today a cabinet of sixty-five ministers, many of whom are viewed as allies of former President Joseph Kabila. The announcement comes eight months after a long-delayed election in which Kabila stepped down (Reuters)
Ebola Spreads in Democratic Republic of Congo
A new case of Ebola was confirmed in Walikale, hundreds of kilometers away from where previous cases occurred (Reuters)
New Ebola Treatments Show Promise
Two Ebola drugs that have been tested in trials in the Democratic Republic of Congo since November appeared so successful that they will be made widely available to patients in the country (Guardian)
DRC Moves to Discourage Cross-Border Travel
People crossing the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo for nonessential reasons will need to obtain clearance from both governments. The new measure is meant to prevent the spread of Ebola (Associated Press)
Between January and June this year, Congolese security officials carried out at least 245 extrajudicial killings, and armed groups carried out at least 418 summary executions, the United Nations reported yesterday (Agence France-Presse)
Separately, the World Food Program will double its food assistance in areas affected by the Ebola outbreak over the next six months (United Nations)
Attacks in Democratic Republic of Congo Kill Twelve People
Twelve people were killed in two attacks by militants from the Allied Democratic Forces in an area of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters)
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Health Minister Resigns
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s health minister resigned yesterday ater President Felix Tshisekedi transferred his authority to oversee the ongoing Ebola outbreak to the head of the national biomedical research institute. In his resignation letter, he cited pressure to use a second vaccine, which is backed by the World Health Organization, to combat the crisis (Reuters)
Democratic Republic of Congo Enforces Ebola Measures
Soldiers and police in the Democratic Republic of Congo will enforce emergency measures as part of heightened efforts to stem the spread of Ebola, including working to ensure that people wash their hands and check their temperature (Associated Press)
Ebola Outbreak Declared a Global Health Emergency
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced yesterday that the nearly year-old Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now a public health emergency of international concern. It is the fifth such declaration in WHO history, and the health crisis has killed more than 1,600 people since it began last August (Associated Press)
The move came after the outbreak was reported to have reached Goma, a border city of two million people (New York Times)
In Democratic Republic of Congo, Rebel Convicted of War Crimes
The International Criminal Court convicted Bosco Ntaganda, a former rebel leader, of war crimes and crimes against humanity for overseeing the slaughter of civilians (Al Jazeera)