Beni, DRC | XINHUA & URN | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the M23 rebel group to respect the latest ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said. Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Guterres, said the secretary-general urged the M23 to respect the ceasefire …
Read More »Burundi troops arrive in DR Congo: army
Goma, DR Congo | Xinhua | The first contingent of Burundian soldiers arrived Sunday in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), under the mandate of the regional forces of the East African Community (EAC). General Emmanuel Kaputa Kasenga, deputy commander of the …
Read More »DRC suspends traffic on roads connecting to Goma City
Goma, DRC | THE INDEPENDENT | The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended traffic on four major roads connecting to Goma City in North Kivu province, just one day after re-opening. The authorities had allowed the resumption of traffic along Goma-Rutshuru-Kanyabayonga, Goma-Sake-Kitshanga-Kanyabayonga, Goma-Sake-Kitshanga-Pinga, and Goma-Sake-Mushaki-Masisi – Walikale …
Read More »Rwanda statement at the high-level segment of the Human Rights Council 52nd session
Geneva, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | Rwanda has stated that the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is a major human rights challenge for the international community. In a statment at the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday, Rwanda insists, the conflict there was however started …
Read More »Dozens killed by armed groups in DR Congo: UN
United Nations | Xinhua | Dozens of civilians were killed in attacks by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the weekend, a United Nations spokesman said on Monday. According to preliminary reports, the armed group CODECO killed at least 20 civilians on Sunday in DRC’s Ituri …
Read More »Rwanda, DRC and M23
How politics in Kinshasa has united with interests in the “international community” to sustain Congo as a failed state THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Rwanda is a very unlucky country. It is the most developmentalist state in Africa. Yet its ambitions to modernise do not depend entirely on its own …
Read More »DRC: Seven FARDC commandos sentenced to death for cowardice
Goma, DRC | THE INDEPENDENT | A garrison military court has handed a death sentence to seven Commandos of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) after pleading guilty to cowardice in front of the enemy. The seven Commandos attached to the Republican Guard were arrested after fleeing …
Read More »DR Congo accuses M23 of shooting at MONUSCO helicopter
Kinshasa, DRC | Xinhua | The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday condemned the attack on a helicopter of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) on the outskirts of the city of Goma, the capital of the eastern North Kivu province. …
Read More »Ruto urges faster action as Tshisekedi, Kagame meet in Burundi
At least 27 million people are in acute need of humanitarian aid. Bujumbura, Burundi | THE INDEPENDENT | Kenya’s President William Ruto has called on leaders from the East African Community (EAC) to urgently address the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. He said the situation remains fluid …
Read More »In DRC, Pope Francis will see a dynamic local Catholic Church
Pope Francis begins his Africa trip in a country whose vast Catholic membership plays a substantial role in society, especially in the health and education sectors. Kinshasa, DRC | BIRD AGENCY | As Pope Francis began his first official visit to Africa this week, the 86-year-old head of the Catholic …
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