Despite Washington Accords, No Headway on Violence
Human Rights Watch warned that the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts to mediate a DRC-Rwanda ceasefire are making little impact on the ground, where it said “unlawful killings, forced displacement, and recruitment” continue unabated (HRW)
U.S. Mineral Deal in DRC
A group of investors that includes U.S. firm Orion and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation reached a preliminary deal to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in copper and cobalt mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), their seller Glencore announced (Glencore)
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the purchase reflected the principles of a recent U.S.-DRC agreement on peace and mineral development (State)
If completed, it would be the largest U.S. investment in the country in a decade (FT)
Meanwhile, M23 militants and allied Congolese rebels took credit for a slew of drone strikes on Kisangani airport in northeastern DRC earlier this week—the group’s deepest attack into the country’s interior (Africanews)
Kinshasa Accuses M23 of Airport Strikes
After a series of drone explosions rocked an airport near Kisangani in north-central DRC, Congolese government officials blamed Rwandan-backed rebels in what would be the group’s deepest penetration into the country (Reuters)
Dismal Conditions at Mine Before Collapse
Child labor, unregulated extraction, and environmental degradation were rampant at the Rubaya coltan mine, where two hundred died last week in a collapse triggered by heavy rains (BBC)
Amid their prolonged violent conflict, both the DRC and Rwandan-backed rebels have said the other bears responsibility for the disaster (AP)
U.S. Lawmakers Threaten Rwanda Sanctions
Legislators from both political parties have grown increasingly frustrated with the Kagame government’s perceived inaction on the Trump administration’s peace efforts in the Great Lakes region (BI Africa)
Journalists Describe Threats, Violence in Eastern DRC
Reporters face intimidation and physical abuse at the hands of militants in a widespread crackdown on press freedom in the war-torn region (CPJ)
Fears of Violence, Cash Flow Shortage in M23-held Goma
Twelve months after Rwandan-backed rebel militants captured Goma, civilians in the city describe daily life marred by financial and physical instability (RFI)
Twenty-Two Killed in ISIS Affiliate Attack
Members of a Ugandan militant group linked to the self-proclaimed Islamic State killed over twenty Congolese civilians amid a slew of attacks on communities in eastern DRC (Reuters)
For Goma’s Citizens, One Year of M23 Control
Armed patrols, security concerns, and mass displacement have defined the past year for residents of Goma, which is currently held by Rwandan-backed rebel forces (Africa News)
DRC-backed Forces Retake Uvira
M23 rebels, who captured the strategic foothold last month, said they withdrew at Washington’s request (AP)
Observers have reported intense fighting on the outskirts of Uvira, near the Congolese border with Burundi (Reuters)
Togo Hosts Great Lakes Peace Conference
At the meeting in Lomé, intended to build on an October meeting in Paris, diplomatic parties provided updates on humanitarian funding and reiterated calls for the Rwandan-backed rebels’ complete withdrawal from the DRC’s eastern provinces (France MoFA)
Report: M23 Withdrawal Poses Security Threat
Amid widespread looting in coastal Uvira, monitoring groups warn that the sudden transition of power could spell trouble for Congolese civilians at the hands of Kinshasa-affiliated militias (HRW)
Congolese Soldiers Reported in Uvira
Though gunfire continued on the town’s outskirts, observers reported Kinshasa’s military personnel appeared to control the city center (AP)
U.S.-DRC Launch Copper Deal
In an effort to diversify its export destinations, Kinshasa announced it would send an initial shipment of 100,000 tons of copper from a Chinese-owned mine in southern DRC’s Lualaba province to the American market (Semafor)
Dozens Dead, Missing in North Kivu Landslide
Intense rainfall triggered a landslide that devastated villages and disrupted key infrastructure in eastern DRC; local officials reported that road closures limited the government’s response capacity (Anadolu Agency)
Limited Progress in Zambia Peace Conference
Defense leaders from East and Southern Africa gathered in Livingstone, Zambia, to discuss prospects for peace in the eastern DRC; observers reported that negotiators failed to make substantial headway in mediating tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali (DW)
Fifty-Three Congolese Refugees Dead in Burundi
According to UN officials, upwards of fifty Congolese fleeing the country’s war-torn east have died in Burundi; half of the reported casualties are linked to a cholera outbreak in overcrowded refugee camps (Reuters)
Drone Strike Victims’ Funeral Inflames Tension
Observers say the M23-organized event in Goma’s Unity Stadium is intended to further drive a wedge between Kinshasa and civilians in eastern DRC; the Congolese government decried the ceremony as a distraction from M23’s own actions in the region (AP)
M23 Looks to Autonomous Governance in DRC
Despite Washington-brokered peace efforts, a UN report alleges Rwandan-backed M23 rebels are taking steps toward establishing an independent parallel government in eastern DRC (BI Africa)
M23 Rebels Establishing Parallel Governance Structures in Eastern DRC
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are establishing administrative, tax, and legal structures in parts of the eastern DRC, according to an interim UN expert report seen by Bloomberg; their efforts flout U.S. and Qatari work to ensure the group’s withdrawal from the region (Bloomberg)
Kinshasa: 1,500 Dead Since DRC-Rwanda Ceasefire
Despite President Trump’s repeated claims that he “ended” the conflict in the eastern DRC, Congolese government officials have accused Rwandan-backed M23 rebels of killing thousands in bomb detonations and drone strikes (DW)
Rebel Group Kills Fourteen in North Kivu
The Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group with Ugandan roots known to target civilians in northeastern DRC, killed over a dozen civilians in a late-night attack on three villages (Le Monde)
DRC Assumes Seat on UN Security Council
Amid continued fighting in the country’s east, Kinshasa’s diplomats will seek to promote ongoing peace negotiations during their one-year term (RFI)
UNICEF: Sexual Violence Threatens DRC’s Children
A report from the UN’s child humanitarian wing warned that persistent “insecurity, displacement, and weak protection services” in war-torn eastern DRC have facilitated rampant sexual abuse, including upwards of 35,000 reported cases this year (UN)
General Sanctioned for Anti-Tutsi Commentary
Kinshasa suspended Major-General Sylvain Ekenge after his anti-Tutsi remarks on national television were widely interpreted as xenophobic; the suspension falls under joint Congolese-Rwandan guidelines limiting “hate speech and verbal attacks” (Africa Report)