European Union Pledges “Record Amount” in Great Lakes Aid
After meetings with Congolese, Rwandan, and Burundian leaders, the EU’s crisis management commissioner announced an €81.2 million aid package—a record for the Great Lakes region—aimed at creating safe passage corridors for civilians and humanitarian aid (EU Commission)
Meanwhile, Massad Boulos, the Trump administration’s senior advisor for Africa, said Rwandan-backed rebel actions in the eastern DRC “seriously disappointed” the White House, adding that he failed to rule out further sanctions against Rwandan President Paul Kagame (France24)
Banyamulenge “Caught in the Middle”
As key strongholds like Uvira in eastern DRC continue to change hands, members of the Banyamulenge ethnic group—Tutsis of Rwandan descent with generational roots in the DRC—have increasingly encountered violence, exploitation, and forced relocation (The New Humanitarian)
Mining Companies Turn to Museum
Belgium’s Royal Museum for Central Africa said it denied a request from KoBold Metals, an American artificial intelligence mining venture backed by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, to access historical twentieth-century maps of the DRC’s network of mines (RFI)
The development comes as the Congolese government insists it hasn’t “sold off” its reserves to American mining interests in the country’s embattled east (AfricaNews)
Opposition, Uncertainty Surround U.S. Minerals Deal
As leaders in Kinshasa continue to explore a joint partnership with Washington, a growing number of Congolese civil society leaders and organizations are expressing their discontent with a prospective deal (AP)
At this year’s Mining Indaba conference in South Africa, the DRC’s mines minister assured investors that Kinshasa had not yet reached any formal agreement with the United States (Reuters)
DRC Hires American Military Contractors
The Congolese government recruited Erik Prince, founder of the private military contractor group Constellis (formerly Blackwater), to provide tactical support as the DRC sought to recapture Uvira from Rwandan-backed rebels (Al-Monitor)
Ugandan-Linked Rebels Kill Dozens
Militants from the Allied Defense Forces (ADF), a Ugandan-linked rebel group aligned with the self-proclaimed Islamic State, massacred dozens of civilians in the mountainous Lubero region north of Goma; according to local groups, ADF rebels have killed upwards of sixty civilians in the area this year (AP)
South African Troops to Leave DRC
After twenty-seven years of peacekeeping support to UN missions in eastern DRC, the South African government announced it will bring home roughly seven hundred soldiers stationed in the country by the end of the year (Reuters)
Kinshasa, London Resolve Immigration Row
After the United Kingdom’s Foreign Office threatened the DRC with visa restrictions last month, Congolese officials agreed to accept repatriated “illegal migrants and dangerous criminals” (BBC)
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)