Browsing: DRC

• President Felix Tshisekedi is inviting the U.S. to directly purchase critical minerals from Kinshasa, instead of buying “looted” and “smuggled” minerals from Rwanda.
• Rwanda is under immense pressure from the UN, the U.S., the EU, the UK to cease and withdraw their support for M23 rebels.
• In a 2022 update, UNEP notes that DRC has around 3.5 million metric tonnes of cobalt, making it home to one of the largest reserves of this vital resource.

The escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has taken a new twist with President Felix Tshisekedi inviting the U.S. to directly purchase critical minerals from Kinshasa instead of buying “looted” and “smuggled” minerals through Rwanda.

In a statement on Sunday, Tina Salama, who is the spokesperson of President Tshisekedi, called out Rwanda, noting that the neighboring country has for long been involved in looting and smuggling of vital mineral resources from the …

• Over 6.7 million people out of which 40 per cent are children, have been displaced across conflict-affected provinces in DRC.
• UN warns children are facing summary executions, sexual violence and abduction and recruitment by the warring factions.
• 45 children, who were cared for in a day transit centre in Goma to have been killed, UN reports.

An increasing number of children in the war ton Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are facing summary executions, sexual violence amid increasing abduction and recruitment by the factions involved in the escalating conflict.

In an update Thursday by the UN Child Rights Committee, children in violence saddled zones of North and South Kivu to the East of the vast country are coming face to face with grave catastrophe.

The UN agency warned that increasingly, armed groups are targeting displaced children and those left helpless in the streets that have been run over by militias.…

• The 8-member bloc will showcase its diverse attractions under the brand “Visit East Africa: Feel the Vibe” during the March 4-6 trade fair in Berlin, Germany.
• EAC aims to attract international tourists and investors by highlighting the region’s rich cultural heritage, natural beauty, and unique attractions.
• The EAC stand at ITB will also provide an opportunity to member countries to showcase their offerings and further penetrate the international market.

Stakeholders in East Africa’s tourism industry have joined forces to make the East African Community (EAC) the word’s next travel and hospitality hotspot during the March 4th-6th, 2025, International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the EAC said it will, for the first time, participate in the global expo as a single entity in the world’s largest tourism trade fair.

According to the EAC Secretary General Veronica Nduva, the bloc will showcase its diverse attractions …

• Looters have wiped out with an estimated 7,000 tonnes of critical humanitarian food supplies in Bukavu City.
• Bukavu, the second largest city in DRC fell to Rwanda-backed M23 rebels at the weekend just weeks after the militia took over Goma in the escalating conflict that worsened in January.
• According to aid organizations, the war in eastern DRC has caused a shortage of humanitarian routes and is now threatening the smooth delivery of essential services in the mineral-rich region.

Food aid in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took a devastating hit over the weekend, with 7,000 tonnes lost to looting, further deepening the crisis as M23 rebels escalate their attacks. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned the looting of thousands of tonnes of relief supplies in the city of Bukavu in the eastern DRC after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels swept in at the weekend, reportedly meeting …

• WHO has warned that the conflict could wipe out any gains made in recent months in the fight against mpox.
• Across Africa, the DRC has evolved as the epicenter of the ongoing mpox outbreak recording 516 cases in the last week, along with 38 deaths.
• The humanitarian situation in the DRC is affecting not only mpox (response efforts) but also a number of other outbreaks, says Africa CDC.

As the M23 rebels advance on their onslaught across different areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the World Health Organization has warned that the conflict could wipe out any gains made in recent months in the fight against mpox.

Across Africa, the DRC has evolved as the epicenter of the ongoing mpox outbreak recording 516 cases in the last week, along with 38 deaths.

Last week, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told an online media briefing that “The humanitarian situation …

• M23 rebels reportedly at Kavumu, about 40km north of mineral-rich Bukavu area.
• UN experts claim the M23 rebels – one of over 100 militias seeking control in DRC’s east – is receiving support from about 4,000 soldiers from Rwanda.
• According to Kinshasa, Rwandan soldiers are pillaging valuable resources from the mineral-rich eastern zone of DRC.

As M23 rebels continue pushing deeper into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after capturing the mineral-rich city of Goma, the city of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, is on the verge of falling under their control.

Media reports show that M23 rebels are threatening to march to DRC capital Kinshasa as they push the government of Felix Tshisekedi on the negotiating table to meet their demands. “We will continue the march of liberation all the way to Kinshasa,” announced rebel leader Corneille Nangaa on Thursday, four days after the group confirmed the …

• Rwanda is fighting accusations of backing M23 rebel attacks in Goma, the most strategic city within the mineral-rich eastern DRC. 
• Already, the UN and other humanitarian agencies have pulled out non-essential personnel out of Goma.
• Early this week protestors in Kinshasa attacked US, Rwanda, Kenya, Belgian and French embassies, demanding decisive counter against M23 rebels.

The war in Goma has sucked in Rwanda with authorities in Kigali increasingly fighting an avalanche of accusations that the country’s military is invading the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in concert with the M23 rebels. According to reports from both local and international media, “The Rwandan army is lining up at the [DRC] border, ready to invade,” an anonymous source privy to official on the ground told media.

“Large numbers of troops from Rwanda have been pouring across the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help rebels seize the regional capital …

• In Eastern DRC, dead bodies lie in the streets, hospitals are overwhelmed and there has been an uptick in reports of sexual violence, rape and looting.
• In Kinshasa, protesters have stormed and torched the embassies of USA, France, Belgium, Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya demanding push back against the advance of M23 rebels.
• UN says 300,000 people uprooted from camps around Goma in a matter of days.

Latest reports from Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from UN teams on the ground indicate a fast-deteriorating situation on Tuesday amid an ongoing assault by M23 rebels on the provincial capital. Dead bodies lie in the streets, hospitals are overwhelmed and there has been an uptick in reports of sexual violence, rape and looting.

“Roads are blocked, ports are closed and those crossing Lake Kivu risk their lives in makeshift boats,” said Shelley Thakral, spokesperson for the UN World Food …

• M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, have seized Goma in eastern DRC, prompting accusations of a “declaration of war” from the Congolese government.
• The conflict has escalated tensions between DRC and Rwanda, with international calls for de-escalation and emergency summit planned in Nairobi to address the crisis.
• Thousands have been displaced, and the humanitarian toll continues to worsen in a region already plagued by decades of instability.

Gunfire echoed across Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as M23 rebels claimed to have seized the city on Sunday. The announcement by the Rwanda-backed rebel group came despite the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) calls for an immediate halt to hostilities.

Goma, home to nearly two million residents, was thrust into chaos as reports emerged of exchanges of fire between DRC and Rwandan troops along the shared border on Monday.

In a statement on social media …

• Rights group has called on DRC President Felix Tshisekedi to immediately halt plans for mass executions of over 170 death row prisoners transferred to Angenga prison.
• Amnesty has condemned the move, citing concerns over fairness, human rights, and appalling prison conditions.
• Since the DRC’s resumption of executions in March 2024 after a 20-year moratorium, there has been a sharp increase in death sentences.

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing mounting pressure from Amnesty International following the transfer of over 170 death row inmates to Angenga prison.

Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Sarah Jackson, described the development as “absolutely appalling,” warning that these prisoners may face imminent execution amid opaque legal processes and alarming prison conditions.

“President Felix Tshisekedi must immediately, publicly, and unambiguously halt any plans to execute people in Angenga prison or elsewhere,” Jackson urged. Amnesty has also called on …