Last Updated 06 Mar 01:03
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06 Mar 11:03
Faith in power of the dead comforts living in DRC's war-torn east
Faith healer Julie Kaviavu threw a handful of grains into the fire and lit a cigarette as she prepared to ask the dead for advice - a common practice in the war-torn eastern DRC.
To help curry favour with the ancestor she claimed to be able to talk to AFP brought an offering of homemade banana wine to her smoked-filled hut, a site for healers like Kaviavu who dispense traditional medicine and commune with ancestral spirits.
All of a sudden Kaviavu's voice took on a gravelly tone as she entered a trance, her eyes rolling back in their sockets as the ancestor "spoke" through the healer.
Although the spirit said he would have preferred a well-known brand of Congolese beer, he accepted the wine all the same.
Kaviavu's brother Sangala Paluku, also a healer, stood near her adorned in a fur hat and puffing on a traditional pipe.
"These verandas help us heal, when there is drought or war, we invoke our ancestors to ask them why," Paluku told AFP, using the local name for the huts.
Such verandas attract people from across the region to the mountain village of Bulambo-Isale in the hope of finding answers to the problems plaguing them.
- AFP
05 Mar 12:00
60 rapes a day in the DRC - UN
The United Nations refugee agency reported an average of 60 rapes a day in the DRC across the first two weeks of February, or 895 in total.
For the past four weeks 414 000 Congolese have been on the move in the DRC's North and South Kivu provinces, after the M23 ordered people in camps for internally displaced people to return to their hometowns, the UNHCR added.
Rwanda denies providing the M23 with military support.
But a UN experts' report found that it maintained 4 000 troops in the eastern DRC as well as de facto control of the armed group.
The report said Rwanda was using the M23 to help secure control of the DRC's vast mineral wealth, helping it to profit from its rich veins of gold and other minerals.
- AFP
05 Mar 11:00
Nearly 80 000 fled east DRC violence to neighbouring countries, says UN
Nearly 80 000 fleeing the conflict ravaging the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since January have found refuge in neighbouring countries, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.
Around 61 000 of those sought shelter in Burundi, which has taken the bulk of refugees hoping to escape the fighting between the Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, the UNHCR added.
With Rwanda's support, the M23 has seized swathes of the DRC's mineral-rich east in recent months, displacing hundreds of thousands and triggering what the UNHCR calls "one of the world's worst humanitarian crises".
For the past four weeks 414 000 Congolese have been on the move in the DRC's North and South Kivu provinces, after the M23 ordered people in camps for internally displaced people to return to their hometowns, the UNHCR added.
"Near the frontlines, sexual violence and human rights abuses remain rampant, as is the looting and destruction of civilian homes and businesses," the UNHCR statement said.
- AFP
04 Mar 07:01
Pro-Rwandan fighters abducted 130 patients in east DR Congo, says UN
M23 fighters have abducted at least 130 people from hospitals in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's city of Goma captured by the Rwandan-backed group, the United Nations said on Monday.
According to the UN, last week the M23 took 116 people from Goma's CBCA Ndosho hospital and 15 others from the Heal Africa hospital, on claims they were members of the DRC's army or pro-government militias.
"We are gravely concerned for the safety and wellbeing of at least 130 sick and wounded men the M23 rebels abducted last week from two hospitals in Goma," the UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
"It is deeply distressing that M23 is snatching patients from hospital beds in coordinated raids and holding them incommunicado in undisclosed locations."
- AFP
03 Mar 09:00
Handover of 20 alleged Hutu rebels was staged, says DRC
The Democratic Republic of Congo's army denied on Sunday that 20 fighters linked to the Rwandan genocide had been captured on its territory, calling a video of their handover to Rwanda "faked".
The statement came after the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in eastern DRC said on Saturday it had captured fighters from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia founded by ethnic Hutus who took part in the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994.
Rwanda has long pointed to the alleged presence of the FDLR in eastern DRC to justify its support for the M23.
With Rwanda's backing, the M23 has seized swathes of the DRC's troubled, mineral-rich east in recent months, including the key provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.
- AFP
28 Feb 23:06
At least 23 killed in Islamist attack in north-east DRC
At least 23 people were killed and about 20 taken hostage this week in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by a group linked to Islamic State, local sources told AFP on Friday.
The attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ituri province along the border with Uganda.
"A total of 23 people executed by these rebels" in the villages of Matolo and Samboko, Jospin Paluku, coordinator of one of the main civil society organisations in Mambasa territory, told AFP, specifying that the toll is provisional.At least another 20 civilians were "taken hostage, including the son of the village chief of Matolo", he added.
Humanitarian groups confirmed the numbers and said they were likely to rise.
The victims were mostly farmers working in the fields, a local police chief said.
ADF, which is made of former Ugandan rebels, has been implanted since the mid-1990s in the northeast of the DRC, where it has killed thousands of civilians despite the deployment of the Ugandan army alongside the Congolese armed forces.
At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, called "Shujaa," without successfully putting an end to their operations.
Paluku said it was the first ADF attack since the start of the year, after a three-month lull.
- AFP
28 Feb 12:02
'We need to keep a close eye': Experts warn to be vigilant for mystery DRC illness
Sharp surveillance will be required to ensure an appropriate strategy to deal with a mystery illness in the DRC.
"This outbreak, as well as previous outbreaks in the DRC are of significance to the rest of the world and we need to keep a close eye and assist with diagnosis and treatment," said Zania Stamataki, associate professor in viral immunology at the University of Birmingham in Britain.
Amanda Rojek, senior clinical fellow at Oxford University's Pandemic Sciences Institute said that while one disease might explain all cases, "we frequently see situations where there might be a mixture of more common illnesses contributing to case numbers".
An initially unexplained spate of deaths in southwestern DRC in October-November 2024 was eventually put down to malaria and common respiratory infections, compounded by malnutrition.
The DRC is one of the world's poorest countries.
- AFP
28 Feb 08:00
WHO deploys rapid response team to investigate DRC mystery illness
A national rapid response team, including WHO health emergency experts, has been deployed in the DRC to investigate a new, unidentified cluster of illness and determine if there is an unusual pattern, the organisation said.
They are conducting interviews, disease surveillance and treating diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis.
Initial laboratory tests have proven negative for Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease.
Around half of the samples tested positive for malaria. Further tests are to be carried out for meningitis, said the WHO. Food, water and environmental samples will also be studied for contamination.
- AFP
28 Feb 07:10
WHO probes mystery illness cluster in western DRC
The World Health Organisation said on Thursday its experts were investigating a new, unidentified cluster of illness in the DRC after two previous mystery outbreaks earlier this year.
The WHO said the Bolamba zone in the western province of Equateur reported 12 people who fell ill, including eight deaths, in January.
Earlier this month, 158 cases and 58 deaths were reported in the Basankusu zone.
And last week, 141 people fell ill in Basankusu zone. No deaths have been reported so far.
"Increased disease surveillance has identified a total of 1 096 sick people and 60 deaths in Basankusu and Bolomba fitting a broad case definition," the UN health agency added.
The definition includes "fever, headache, chills, sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, multiple joint pain and body aches, a runny or bleeding from nose, cough, vomiting and diarrhoea.
"The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing many concurrent crises and outbreaks, putting a further strain on the health sector and the population," the WHO added.
- AFP
27 Feb 20:30
East DRC explosions kill at least 11
Two explosions that rocked a city in eastern DR Congo after a meeting of the M23 armed group on Thursday have killed at least 11 people and injured around 60, a hospital source told AFP.
President Felix Tshisekedi called the explosions a "heinous terrorist act".
A first explosion caused panic, sending spectators fleeing, before a second rang out.
The meeting, which took place in South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu was attended by one of the armed group's leaders, Corneille Nangaa.
"At the morgue, there are 11 bodies," all of whom arrived dead, the hospital source said at Bukavu provincial general hospital.
The source added that "in terms of injuries, there are already around 60 (people)".
Bukavu is one of two key cities in the turbulent region seized in recent weeks by anti-government M23 fighters who UN experts say are backed by Rwandan forces.
Witnesses present at the M23 meeting had previously told AFP they had seen between five and seven bodies after the explosions.
The M23 took control of South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu over a week ago, after capturing Goma, the capital of North Kivu and the main city in the country's east, late last month.
- AFP
27 Feb 08:01
Rwanda says does not fear isolation over war in east DRC
Rwanda's foreign minister said on Wednesday the country did not fear becoming increasingly isolated over the war in eastern DRC, insisting it would not be swayed from defending its borders.
The Rwanda-backed M23 has in recent weeks seized two major cities in eastern DRC, giving the armed group a major foothold in the region since taking up arms again in late 2021.
Britain said on Tuesday it was suspending most direct bilateral aid to Rwanda, while the US last week unveiled sanctions against a Rwandan government minister.
"Any talks about punitive measures and sanctions against Rwanda cannot sway us from protecting our borders and our population," Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told the UN correspondents' association ACANU.
"Rwanda doesn't fear to be isolated. We are facing an existential threat against our country from a genocidal force.
"So talking about being diplomatically isolated really is not a concern for the time being."
- AFP
26 Feb 12:00
Burundi troops deploy in east DRC
Burundi troops - allies of Kinshasa - were still deploying on Tuesday in east DRC, as the UK announced it was suspending most direct bilateral aid to Rwanda over an offensive by M23 fighters that UN experts say is supported by soldiers from the east African nation.
Burundi fighters were moving north of Uvira to fend off the advance of M23 fighters.
"Since Sunday, we have observed movements of heavily armed Burundian soldiers heading toward Luvungi", some by road from Uvira, others "crossing the Ruizi River" which runs along the border between the DRC and Burundi, a resident of Sange, located halfway between Uvira and Luvungi, explained to AFP by telephone.
Many Wazalendo - pro-Kinshasa militia - "are joining them in Luvungi", the resident added under condition of anonymity.
M23 troops are present around the town of Kamanyola around 75km north of Uvira.
- AFP
26 Feb 11:39
DRC President Tshisekedi to hold talks to form unity government
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said he was going to begin discussions to form a unity government, as international pressure mounted for the Congolese government to resolve the crisis in the country's east.
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25 Feb 14:50
ICC prosecutor arrives in DRC amid conflict in east
The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan has arrived in the DRC, his office said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with an upsurge in fighting in the east.
The Rwanda-backed M23 has in recent weeks seized two major cities in eastern DRC, giving the armed group a major foothold in the region since taking up arms again in late 2021.
"We are extremely worried about recent developments in Congo, we know the situation particularly in the east is acute," Khan told reporters on his arrival in the capital Kinshasa.
"The message has to be conveyed very clearly: Any armed group, any armed forces, any allies to armed groups or armed forces don't have a blank cheque," he said.
"They must comply to international humanitarian law," Khan added.
According to UN experts, the M23 is supported by around 4 000 Rwandan soldiers.
- AFP
25 Feb 12:56
A member of the M23 movement stands guard during an enrolment of civilians, police officers, and former members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) who allegedly decided to join the M23 movement voluntarily in Goma.
Recent gains have given the M23 movement control of Lake Kivu following its lightning offensive in the east.
According to the UN, the latest fighting has led to an exodus of more than 50 000 Congolese to Burundi, Uganda and other countries.
The M23 is now moving toward the town of Uvira near the Burundi border on the northwestern tip of Lake Tanganyika - the main exit route for fleeing Congolese soldiers.
(Photo by Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
A member of the M23 movement stands guard during an enrolmentof civilians, police officers, and former members of the Armed Forces of theDemocratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) who allegedly decided to join the M23movement voluntarily in Goma.
Recent gains have given the M23 movement control of LakeKivu following its lightning offensive in the east.
According to the UN, thelatest fighting has led to an exodus of more than 50 000 Congolese to Burundi,Uganda and other countries.
The M23 is now moving toward the town of Uvira near theBurundi border on the northwestern tip of Lake Tanganyika - the main exit routefor fleeing Congolese soldiers.
(Photo by Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
25 Feb 12:00
DRC police officers stand on guard during a parade in Kinshasa.
(Photo by Hardy Bope/AFP)
DRC police officers stand on guard during a parade inKinshasa.
(Photo by Hardy Bope/AFP)
25 Feb 10:49
Wounded SANDF soldiers repatriated from DRC, admitted to 1 Military Hospital
A group of injured South African National Defence Force soldiers have been repatriated from Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and have been admitted into 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria.
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21 Feb 19:48
UN Security Council to call on Rwanda to pull troops from Congo
The United Nations Security Council will vote on Friday to call on Rwanda's military to stop supporting the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and immediately withdraw all troops from the Congolese territory "without preconditions".
The French-drafted UN resolution "strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 in North-Kivu and South Kivu with the support of Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF)" and demands that the M23 immediately stop its hostilities and withdraw.
- Reuters
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21 Feb 15:47
EU summons Rwandan ambassador over DR Congo offensive
The EU on Friday summoned Rwanda's ambassador to demand Kigali pull out troops from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and stop backing an offensive by the M23 armed group.
M23 forces have seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC - including the main cities of Goma and Bukavu - in the face of limited resistance from Congolese forces.
"The European Union has today summoned the ambassador of Rwanda to the EU due to the ongoing offensive of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and M23 in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)," the EU said in a statement.
- AFP
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21 Feb 13:00
42 000 people fled eastern DRC to Burundi in two weeks: UN
Around 42 000 people have fled the conflict raging in eastern DRC and crossed into Burundi in the past two weeks, the UN said on Friday.
"Just in the first two weeks, we have received ... 42 000 people already seeking asylum," said Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, a representative of the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Burundi, adding that it has been working with a contingency plan "targeting about 58 000 people who could cross" over three months.
- AFP
21 Feb 08:01
Fleeing DRC soldiers 'looting shops and stores'
A journalist in Lubero, DRC, who asked to remain anonymous because of security concerns, told AFP that "fleeing soldiers had opened fire in the centre" and "looted shops and stores".
Several residents contacted by AFP confirmed the account. Aline Nyota said she was travelling from Lubero to Butembo, 45km further north, when "the Congolese soldiers we met robbed us: Phones, money and other goods."
"If you hesitate, they shoot," she said.
The local journalist said Ugandan troops backed by tanks were patrolling Lubero to provide security.
M23 forces, backed by Rwandan troops according to the UN, have faced little resistance since taking Goma on 28 January.
"It up to us to show resistance, to rejoin our positions and work," said Colonel Mak Hazukay, pleading with deserters not to mistreat civilians.
- AFP
21 Feb 07:00
DRC army urges deserters to rejoin
The Democratic Republic of Congo's army on Thursday urged soldiers who fled in the face of an offensive by M23 forces to rejoin their units and help prevent further territorial losses.
Terrified residents in Lubero, some 250km north of the provincial capital Goma, told to AFP that mobs of Congolese soldiers were looting as M23 advanced on the town.
"I ask all the soldiers who deserted the front and are hanging around in Lubero and its surroundings to return to their commanders," Colonel Mak Hazukay, a spokesperson for the army in the region, said in a message broadcast on local radio stations.
"A soldier must not abandon his superior and his group."
- AFP
20 Feb 21:24
US sanctions Rwandan minister over DR Congo fighting
The United States on Thursday unveiled sanctions against a Rwandan government minister over his support for the M23 armed group fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
With support from the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF), the M23 have, in recent weeks, made big gains in the eastern DRC, seizing the cities of Goma and Bukavu and prompting warnings to the United Nations Security Council.
The unrest has stoked fears of a regional conflagration.
The US Treasury Department said it had designated the country's minister for regional integration James Kabarebe, accusing him of being "central" to Rwanda's support for the M23.
Kabarebe "is a Rwandan government liaison to M23 and orchestrates RDF support for the armed group," it said in a statement.
"He has coordinated the export of extracted minerals from mining sites in the DRC for eventual export from Rwanda," it added.
Yolande Makolo, a spokesperson for the Rwandan government, told AFP that the sanctions against Kabarebe were "unjustified and unfounded."
"The international community should support not undermine ongoing regional efforts towards a political solution," she said.
"If sanctions could resolve conflict in eastern DRC, we would have had peace in the region decades ago."
The Treasury also unveiled sanctions against Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, a member of the M23 and another group known as the Congo River Alliance, along with two of his companies.
Treasury's actions are intended to hold accountable officials "enabling the RDF and M23's destabilising activities in the eastern DRC," said Bradley Smith, the acting Treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
- AFP
20 Feb 17:22
DR Congo unrest sparks biggest refugee wave to Burundi in 25 years
Burundi is dealing with its biggest influx of refugees in 25 years as families flee the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations refugee agency said.
Rwandan-backed M23 fighters have made big gains in the eastern DRC, seizing the cities of Goma and Bukavu, prompting warnings to the UN Security Council and stoking fears of a regional conflagration.
The United Nations warned on Wednesday that the M23 "continues to advance towards other strategic areas" in the eastern Congolese provinces of North and South Kivu.
- AFP
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20 Feb 09:02
M23 pushing advance toward 'strategic zones' in DR Congo, warns UN
The M23 armed group is advancing on strategic zones in the eastern DRC after taking two key cities, the UN warned on Wednesday, underscoring the threat of a regional conflict.
Recent weeks have seen the rapid progression of the Rwanda-backed M23, which has seized vast tracts of the eastern DRC, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu on Lake Kivu.
Bukavu on the southern side fell on Sunday, weeks after fighters captured the city of Goma in the north - giving them total control of the lake situated between the cities.
"If our information is correct, (the M23) continues to advance toward other strategic areas in North and South Kivu," the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for the Great Lakes region, Huang Xia, told the Security Council.
- AFP
20 Feb 06:30
Countries bordering the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo sought to shore up defences on Wednesday as violence spreads through the region, with Burundi forced to pull back troops and Uganda securing a key city. https://t.co/WrA9ryZwPB pic.twitter.com/SlPnLcJpco
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 19, 2025
19 Feb 16:23
Congolese church leaders push for peace talks between govt, M23 rebels
Congolese religious leaders are aiming to organise peace talks that would bring President Felix Tshisekedi's government, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and exiled opposition figures around the same table, two officials said on Wednesday.
The effort would require getting Tshisekedi to abandon his position of refusing to sit down with the rebels, whom he brands terrorists. But as M23 continues to advance after seizing eastern Congo's two largest cities, those involved in the effort say they are hopeful.
"We, the two churches, Catholic and Protestant, are trying to get the whole world around one table," Monsignor Donatien Nshole, secretary-general of the influential Catholic bishops conference (CENCO), said in an interview in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, where he met with President William Ruto to discuss how to combine regional mediation efforts with national ones.
- Reuters
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19 Feb 14:40
People gather around market stalls as residents begin to venture out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu.
Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paid their fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DRC's Lake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake's two main ports for weeks after fighting disrupted the service.
Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 fighters and government forces has raged for months in the towns, villages and cities on the DRC side of the lake, which straddles the border with Rwanda.
(Photo by Luis Tato/AFP)
People gather around market stalls as residents begin toventure out onto the streets following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu.
Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paidtheir fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DRC'sLake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake's two main ports for weeks afterfighting disrupted the service.
Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 fighters and governmentforces has raged for months in the towns, villages and cities on the DRC sideof the lake, which straddles the border with Rwanda.
(Photo by Luis Tato/AFP)
19 Feb 13:00
Calls grow for Congo to resolve conflict through dialogue
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has intensified his accusations against Rwanda, issuing a scathing critique against decades of what he described as "predatory aggression" against the Democratic Republic of Congo at the recent Munich Security Conference.
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19 Feb 12:00
UN human rights chief accuses M23 rebels of 'summary executions' in DRC
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Tuesday accused Rwanda-backed rebels, who seized a second major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.
Turk said in a statement on Tuesday that his office "confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week. We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons."
He did not refer to specific events, but UN agencies have previously accused both Congolese government forces and the rebels of recruiting children.
The United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this month launched a commission that will investigate atrocities, including rapes and killings akin to "summary executions" committed by both sides since the beginning of the year.
The statement also said Turk's office received reports about "arbitrary arrests and detentions", as well as mistreatment and "alleged forced returns of Congolese young men fleeing violence in neighbouring countries".
- Al Jazeera
19 Feb 11:00
A military jacket, believed to belong to a Wazalendo - Patriots in Swahili - militia fighter, lies on the ground at the burned and destroyed market facilities damaged by heavy looting following clashes at Kadutu Market in Bukavu.
Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paid their fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DRC's Lake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake's two main ports for weeks after fighting disrupted the service.
Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 fighters and government forces has raged for months in the towns, villages and cities on the DRC side of the lake, which straddles the border with Rwanda.
(Photo by Luis Tato/AFP)
A military jacket, believed to belong to a Wazalendo - Patriotsin Swahili - militia fighter, lies on the ground at the burned and destroyedmarket facilities damaged by heavy looting following clashes at Kadutu Marketin Bukavu.
Traders and travellers packed their belongings and paidtheir fares early on Tuesday for the long boat journey across eastern DRC'sLake Kivu, the first sailing between the lake's two main ports for weeks afterfighting disrupted the service.
Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 fighters and governmentforces has raged for months in the towns, villages and cities on the DRC sideof the lake, which straddles the border with Rwanda.
(Photo by Luis Tato/AFP)
19 Feb 09:30
'Cease all hostilities': UK calls on Rwanda to negotiation table over DRC conflict
The UK Foreign Office summoned Rwanda's high commissioner - equivalent to an ambassador - in London in response to the ongoing M23 rebel advance in the DRC.
"We urge Rwanda to immediately cease all hostilities and return to dialogue through African-led peace processes," a spokesperson said.
The M23 has seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC and faced limited resistance from Congolese forces.
UN experts say Rwanda effectively controls the M23 and has at least 4 000 troops fighting alongside the group.
- AFP
19 Feb 08:00
UK summons Rwandan envoy over M23 advance in DRC
Britain's foreign ministry on Tuesday said it had summoned Rwanda's envoy to the UK to condemn advances made by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in the eastern DRC.
M23 fighters and Rwandan troops marched largely unchecked on Friday into Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, before seizing the city on Sunday. That capture follows the armed group's rout of the Congolese army to capture the key provincial capital of Goma in North Kivu last month.
"These advances constitute an unacceptable violation of DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity," a Foreign Office spokesperson said, calling for Rwanda to "immediately withdraw" all Rwanda Defence Forces from Congolese territory.
- AFP
18 Feb 14:47
A displaced woman reacts after dismantling her shelter in the Bulengo internally displaced persons (IDP) camp after it was burned down, in Bulengo.
Columns of M23 fighters allied with Rwandan troops entered the centre of another key city in the eastern DRC as the African Union highlighted growing fears that the strife-torn country could break up. Scores of people have fled since the fighters reached outlying districts of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province.
It was barely defended by the Congolese armed forces (FARDC). The fall of the city of one million people gives the M23 total control of Lake Kivu, following its capture of Goma, capital of neighbouring North Kivu province.
(Photo by Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
A displaced woman reacts after dismantling her shelter inthe Bulengo internally displaced persons (IDP) camp after it was burned down,in Bulengo.
Columns of M23 fighters allied with Rwandan troops enteredthe centre of another key city in the eastern DRC as the African Unionhighlighted growing fears that the strife-torn country could break up.Scores of people have fled since the fighters reachedoutlying districts of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province.
It was barely defended by the Congolese armed forces(FARDC).The fall of the city of one million people gives the M23total control of Lake Kivu, following its capture of Goma, capital ofneighbouring North Kivu province.
(Photo by Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
18 Feb 13:00
'The soldier, the strategist': Rwanda's Kagame a hero, and despot
For many at home and abroad, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame is the visionary hero who pulled his country from the depths of genocidal horror and turned it into a development showcase built on tourism, conferences and shiny deals with European football clubs and US basketball players.
For others, "PK" has become, at 67, a despot who muzzles all opposition.
"You can't separate Kagame the politician from Kagame the soldier, the strategist," said Onesphore Sematumba, of the International Crisis Group.
"When he talks about certain political and even diplomatic issues to Westerners, he often says... 'Do these people know my background?'"
The future ruler was 3 years old when his parents, linked to Rwanda's former royal family, fled to neighbouring Uganda after the massacres of Tutsis in 1959.
He spent 34 years in exile.
"Kagame is a very embittered former refugee, who grew up in a certain amount of hardship, very aware that he was a second-class citizen in Uganda," said Michela Wrong, a journalist specialising in the region.
- AFP
18 Feb 12:00
DRC rebels promise security after seizing Bukavu in country's east
Rwanda-backed rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have promised to "restore security" in Bukavu, the second major city in the country's east to fall under the control of the M23 since late in January.
Residents of the capital of South Kivu province were tentatively walking the streets again on Monday, a day after M23 rebels overran the city with next to no resistance from the fleeing Congolese army.
Thousands of people have fled to neighbouring Burundi while some residents who stayed behind welcomed the M23 as columns of fighters entered Bukavu on Sunday morning.
In a statement read on local radio on Monday, a rebel alliance that includes M23 said it would assist the population of Bukavu who were "abandoned" by the army and allied combatants.
"Our forces have been working to restore the security for the people and their property, much to the satisfaction of the entire population," it said.
- Al Jazeera
18 Feb 11:00
Rwanda controls M23, say UN experts
United Nations experts say Rwanda effectively controls the M23 and has at least 4 000 troops fighting alongside the group.
The DRC government accuses Rwanda of "expansionist ambitions" and says it is stealing vast amounts of minerals.
But its calls for international sanctions on Rwanda have so far come to nothing.
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame denies the allegations but says Hutu leaders implicated in the 1994 genocide are present in the eastern DRC, threatening Rwanda, and must be eliminated.
- AFP
18 Feb 10:00
Rwanda's Kagame: a 'chess-player' getting his way in DR Congo
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has shown his strategic acumen, honed by 30 years of cementing control at home and influence abroad, as conflict flares in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Raised as a refugee, forged by a Ugandan bush war and the horrific Rwandan genocide of 1994, Kagame takes no chances when it comes to threats to his country and personal authority, experts say.
Now Rwanda stands accused of backing an armed group - the M23 - that has seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC in recent weeks, facing limited resistance from Congolese forces.
For analysts, this underlines how Kagame has become the quintessential "chess-player" of African politics.
"He is the master of politico-military affairs," said a Western diplomat. "With him nothing is left to chance, never."
- AFP
18 Feb 09:00
Rebel-held cities' ports to reopen
Erasto Bahati Musanga, the rebel-appointed governor of North Kivu, DRC, announced that ports in Bukavu and Goma would reopen on Tuesday.
Navigation on Lake Kivu, one of the largest lakes in Africa, had been banned since late January as a result of the rebel offensive on Goma.
- Al Jazeera
18 Feb 08:31
Two bodies lay on a Bukavu road, lynched by a mob accusing them of taking part in the widespread pillaging of the eastern DR Congo city as it fell to pro-Rwandan forces.https://t.co/SCCzC8dHuI pic.twitter.com/wPiT64JfvW
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 18, 2025
18 Feb 08:00
7 000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies looted in Bukavu - UN
Although a bloodbath was avoided in Bukavu, the city's streets were still littered with rubbish left by residents who took advantage of the confusion to loot humanitarian warehouses, shops and the local brewery.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday said looters made off with 7 000 tonnes of humanitarian food supplies at the weekend.
The agency condemned the attack on its Bukavu warehouses in a post on X, saying the food supplies "were meant to provide vital support to the most vulnerable families who now face a growing humanitarian crisis".
It also urged all parties to the conflict "to respect their obligations vis-à-vis international humanitarian law", which includes the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.
- Al Jazeera
17 Feb 19:48
Congolese families displaced by ongoing clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo line up as they wait for Rwandan police and immigration officials to allow them to return to the country following the takeover of the Congolese city of Bukavu by the M23 movement at the Rusizi 1 border post in Cyangugu on 17 February 2025.
(Picture by Luis Tato/AFP)
Congolese families displaced by ongoing clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo line up as they wait for Rwandan police and immigration officials to allow them to return to the country following the takeover of the Congolese city of Bukavu by the M23 movement at the Rusizi 1 border post in Cyangugu on 17 February 2025.
(Picture by Luis Tato/AFP)
17 Feb 19:47
10 000 DR Congo refugees have entered Burundi: govt
Burundi on Monday said that close to 10 000 people had fled across its western border from the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last three days as Rwanda-backed forces advance there.
"Those who flee are passing through the official border at Gatumba or cross the river Rusizi," said the interior ministry in a statement.
- AFP
TAP HERE FOR MORE
17 Feb 11:00
DRC fighting risks sparking 'wider regional conflict', says UK government
The UK government on Sunday warned that a growing offensive by Rwandan-backed fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo risked sparking "a wider regional conflict".
M23 fighters routed the Congolese army to capture the key provincial capital of Goma in North Kivu in January.
Then on Friday, the armed group and Rwandan troops marched largely unchecked into Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, security and humanitarian sources said.
"The entrance of M23 and the Rwandan Defence Force into Bukavu is a violation of DRC's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of the UN Charter," a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.
"This is a serious escalation that heightens the risk of a wider regional conflict - the human cost of which would be devastating.
"The UK calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of all RDF from Congolese territory and a return to dialogue through African-led peace processes. There can be no military solution."
- AFP
17 Feb 10:00
Residents walk next to a vehicle with M23 fighters on in Bukavu.
M23 fighters and Rwandan troops entered the DR Congo provincial capital of Bukavu on 14 February 2025, security and humanitarian sources said.
The fighters and their Rwandan allies entered the eastern city of around one million people, the capital of South Kivu province, meeting virtually no resistance after having seized the region's main airport, the sources said.
(Photo by Amani Alimasi/AFP)
16 Feb 20:58
African Union warns against territorial break-up of DR Congo
The African Union (AU) warned on Sunday against the break-up of the Democratic Republic of Congo, two days after the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group entered a second city in the country's east.
"We don't want a balkanisation of eastern DRC," the AU's Peace and Security Commissioner Bankole Adeoye told reporters.
Without mentioning Rwanda, he added: "We are calling for the immediate removal of M23 and their supporters from all towns and cities including Goma airport."
- AFP
READ MORE HERE
15 Feb 13:44
UN chief warns against regional war over the Democratic Republic of Congo
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday demanded that the Democratic Republic of Congo's "territorial integrity" be respected and a regional war avoided, at an African summit the day after Rwandan-backed fighters seized a second DRC provincial capital.
With international pressure mounting on Rwanda to curb the fighting in eastern DRC, the conflict was set to dominate the African Union summit as it opened in Addis Ababa.
Having routed the Congolese army to capture the key provincial capital of Goma in North Kivu last month, the Rwandan-backed armed group pushed into neighbouring South Kivu.
It took a vital airport there before marching virtually unchecked into another key city, Bukavu, on Friday, security and humanitarian sources said.
"The fighting that is raging in South Kivu - as a result of the continuation of the M23 offensive - threatens to push the entire region over the precipice," Guterres told leaders in an address to the summit, without mentioning Rwanda.
"Regional escalation must be avoided at all costs. There is no military solution," he added."The dialogue must begin. And the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected."
- AFP
15 Feb 11:42
M23 fighters, Rwandan troops enter DR Congo city of Bukavu, security and humanitarian sources say
M23 fighters and Rwandan troops entered the DR Congo provincial capital of Bukavu on Friday, security, and humanitarian sources said.
The fighters and their Rwandan allies entered the eastern city of around one million people, the capital of South Kivu province, meeting virtually no resistance, having earlier in the day seized the airport serving the area, the sources said.
- AFP
08 Feb 11:07
Kenya urges 'immediate ceasefire' at summit on DRC conflict
Kenyan President William Ruto urged all armed forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to cease hostilities as regional leaders met in Tanzania for a peace summit on Saturday.
"We call on all parties to actualise the ceasefire, and specifically on the M23 to halt further advancement and the armed forces of DRC to cease all retaliatory measures," said Ruto, who is current chair of the East African Community.
"An immediate ceasefire is the only way by which we can create necessary conditions for constructive dialogue and implementation of a comprehensive peace agreement," he added.
- AFP
08 Feb 08:28
Leaders from Eastern and Southern African blocs seek solutions to Congo conflict
Leaders from Eastern and Southern African regional blocs gather in Tanzania on Saturday to seek a solution to the conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels have seized a major city in the worst escalation of fighting in more than a decade.
The M23 rebels last week captured Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite announcing a unilateral ceasefire, they have continued to march south towards Bukavu in a rapid offensive that has left thousands dead and raised fears of a regional conflagration.
Congo's leader Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, who have exchanged fiery words blaming each other's governments for the upsurge in violence, agreed to attend the summit, although Tshisekedi may call in remotely, sources said.
- Reuters
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