Sixteen UN staff members taken hostage by unarmed South Sudanese refugees at a camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo were released unharmed. The refugees were demanding to be moved to another country (Al Jazeera)
DRC Officials Arrest Two Over UN Deaths
Congolese officials arrested two people, one who subsequently escaped custody, in connection with the killings of one U.S. and one Swedish UN staffer, whose bodies were found in March. The bodies of several other staff members who were accompanying them have not been found (New York Times)
UN Finds Thirteen Mass Graves in DRC
The United Nations announced it has found thirteen mass graves in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai region since March, bringing the total discovered since August to twenty-three. An estimated four hundred people have been killed in that time due to fighting between rebels and the Congolese military (BBC)
Three Bodies of UN Employees Found in DRC
Two UN researchers from the United States and Sweden, and their interpreter, were found dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s central Kasai region. They, along with three other support staff, were abducted while investigating human rights abuses in the region (BBC)
United States Considers Troop Cap in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The United States may seek a cap of fifteen thousand on the number of troops in the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the body’s largest and most expensive operation of its kind (VOA)
DRC Warns U.S. Against Change to Conflict Mineral Law
The Democratic Republic of the Congo warned that a rollback of a section of the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act that requires companies to disclose purchases of conflict minerals could encourage “escalation in the activities of non-state armed groups” (Bloomberg)
Forty Police Officers Beheaded by Tribal Militia
Members of a tribal militia called Kamuina Nsapu ambushed and executed police officers in central Kasai province (NYT)
UN: More Than One Hundred Killed by DRC Forces
More than one hundred people, including thirty-nine women, were killed when soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo used machine guns against militia fighters largely armed with spears and machetes over five days of clashes, the UN said (Al Jazeera)
Longtime DRC Opposition Leader Dies
Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi reportedly died in Brussels. The eighty-four-year-old politician was set to join a transitional council (Al Jazeera) that would pave the way for President Joseph Kabila to leave his post at the end of his term in 2017
UN Security Council Welcomes DRC Political Agreement
The UN Security Council said it expected “swift implementation” of a political deal mediated by the Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo calling for President Joseph Kabila’s exit (Associated Press)
New Deal for Kabila to Step Down
A new agreement reached by some political parties and mediated by the Catholic Church sets Congolese President Joseph Kabila to step down before the end of 2017. The agreement, which has not been signed by Kabila, states that a transitional government, in place by March 2018, will appoint a prime minister from the opposition (Al Jazeera)
At Least Twenty-Six Protesters Killed in DRC
Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo opened fire (Reuters) on demonstrators, killing at least twenty-six people, according to Human Rights Watch. The protesters were calling on President Joseph Kabila, who has been in office since 2001, to step down after his mandate expired Monday
DRC Protesters Call for Kabila to Leave Office
Residents held protests (Africa News) and gunfire could be heard in Kinshasa as President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since 2001, refused to step down from office before his mandate expired
DRC Blocks Social Networks Ahead of Protests
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo ordered social media platforms to be blocked ahead of planned protests on the day that President Joseph Kabila’s mandate expires (Al Jazeera)
Opposition Leader Vows to Return
Exiled opposition leader Moise Katumbi vowed to return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo if President Joseph Kabila, whose term ends on December 19, does not step down (FT)
Several Dead in Democratic Republic of Congo Clashes
At least twenty people have been killed when fighters loyal to a local chief clashed with security forces. The fighting in Tshikapa, the capital of Kasai province, started on December 3 and continued into December 4, with the armed fighters taking control of three hills overlooking the town (Al Jazeera)
UN Rights Expert Criticizes Clampdown on Media in Congo
A UN expert on freedom of expression accused the Congolese government of violating international human rights law with jamming radio broadcasts and arresting journalists. David Kaye cited a decree on November 12 that bars international media from operating in Congo unless they sign an agreement with local media or set up an outlet under Congolese regulations. He said five journalists were arrested and the signals of three media outlets were jammed last month (Washington Post)
Opposition Figure Named Prime Minister in Power Sharing Deal
Samy Badibanga, a member of the DRC opposition, was named prime minister in a deal that allows President Joseph Kabila to remain in office after his term ends in December (New York Times)
DRC Prime Minister Resigns in Bid to Appease Opposition
Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo resigned on November 14, allowing an opposition member to take his post in a deal that would extend President Joseph Kabila’s term and postpone elections until 2018 (Africa News)
Grenade Blast Kills Two in Eastern Congo
A grenade detonated near a group of Indian peacekeepers in eastern Congo, killing a peacekeeper and an eight-year-old child. Thirty-one peacekeepers and three civilians were injured (New York Times)
Eight Democracy Advocates Arrested
Eight democracy advocates were arrested in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo before a planned demonstration against the delay of the presidential election, fellow activists said (Reuters)
Former Vice President Found Guilty of Bribing Witnesses
Former Democratic Republic of the Congo Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba was found guilty of bribing witnesses at the International Criminal Court (Africa News)
DRC Opposition Calls for General Strike
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s main opposition party called for a general strike to protest the postponement of elections due this year to April 2018. The delay would give President Joseph Kabila more than an extra year in office (Al Jazeera)
EU Threatens Sanctions Over Election Violence
The European Union will prepare economic sanctions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo unless it holds its delayed presidential and primary elections next year, foreign ministers agreed (Reuters)
DRC Delays Presidential Election to 2018
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that it would delay presidential elections due in November until April 2018 (Al Jazeera)
Opposition members decried this delay as a move to keep President Joseph Kabila in power after his term concludes in December