Democratic Republic Of Congo

Reports indicate that Tshisekedi signed the agreement with Blackwater in December 2024, officially to protect key mining sites in Katanga and Kivu rich in cobalt, coltan, and copper.

Further, the coalition decried that DRC's military actions amount to a blatant dismissal of ongoing diplomatic efforts, warning that such moves threaten to derail recent progress made through international mediation, including the US-brokered peace agreement between Kinshasa and Rwanda.

On June 27, the DRC and Rwanda signed a landmark peace agreement in the United States, sparking hopes of ending years of armed conflict and humanitarian crises in the eastern DRC and the wider Great Lakes region.

The sanctions, first imposed years ago, include restrictions on arms transfers, financial assets and travel for individuals and groups linked to armed conflict and instability in the region.

While Kinshasa projected diplomacy, Goma staged defiance. M23's Corneille Nangaa and the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 marked the day by planting a symbolic tree and asserting their grip on 34,000 square kilometres of territory.

A treaty between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo comes as the United States tries to reassert its role as a global mediator under President Donald Trump. But it leaves many unanswered questions.

The peace agreement was initially expected to be signed by Rwandan and DR Congo Presidents in the White House in mid-June, according to the Declaration of Principles signed by the countries' foreign ministers on April 25.

Recent developments show that most of the bonds have not been structured properly. As a result, African countries are paying way over the odds relative to their sovereign risks.

The deal, quietly initialled by technical teams on June 18, is to be witnessed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and bears the fingerprints of both Washington and Doha.

According to Save the Children, over 65 per cent of these cases involved rape, while others included psychological and physical abuse.

According to the statement, M23 fighters stormed the village about 6:30 pm local time, killing at least 17 civilians and setting houses on fire.

On June 17, after more than a decade of investigation, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office requested that the case surrounding the assassination of Patrice Lumumba be referred to a Brussels criminal court.

DRC, the world's largest supplier of cobalt, instituted the initial ban on cobalt exports in late February, citing oversupply of the mineral after prices hit a nine-year low of $10 (Sh1,292) per 0.45 kg.

Justin Ndayishimiye, a local Member of Parliament and former coordinator of artisanal mining in Rubaya, attributed the tragedy to the unregulated and chaotic mining practices prevalent in the region.

The agreement, according to a joint statement from the US State Department, is due to be signed on June 27 at a ministerial-level meeting.

Significant material damage was recorded in the regions with many families displaced as a result.

Although the country is currently in its dry season, local media quoted meteorological authorities as saying that rainfall reached 90 millimetres.

In 2007, Floribèrt Bwana Chui Bin Kositi, a customs quality control officer, was abducted and murdered after he refused to green light the transport of the spoiled rice. His moral stand, however, cost him his life.

I expected ruin. Collapsed buildings. Blackened rubble. Bullet-scarred walls. Shell craters and twisted steel. I imagined a landscape frozen in grief, punctuated by silence and soot. The destruction I had envisioned wasn’t there. Sure, scars of conflict existed but they were subtle, shadowed by a city that had somehow refused to stop living.

The meeting focused on the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, particularly its role in protecting civilians.

Severe weather and overcrowding are believed to be the reasons the boat sank. Deadly boat accidents have become common in the waters near the African country.

Cishambo was governor in South Kivu, which is largely controlled by the rebels, from July 2010 to August 2017.

The workers claim that Kibali Mining is exploiting labour grievances to destabilise Chinese business operations, which dominate the local mining industry in Mambasa. They warn that such interference not only threatens their livelihoods but could plunge the territory into violent conflict.

According to CSAC Chief Christian Bosembe, media houses that fail to adhere to the directive will have their operations suspended entirely.

The two African nations will take up their roles in January 2026, serving a two-year term on the world’s most powerful decision-making body for peace and security.

The group described the operations carried out between May 23 and 29 as “terrorist actions” systematically launched on various densely populated areas of South Kivu.

The UN warned that displaced populations were facing widespread human rights violations, including murder, summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labour, and being used as human shields.

This marks DR Congo’s third bid for a seat on the UN Security Council, having previously served in 1982–1983 and 1992–1993 under Mobutu Sese Seko.

The conflict has already disrupted conservation in the protected areas in North and South Kivu (Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Virunga National Park).

His return to Goma comes barely two days after he accused President Felix Tshisekedi’s government for populism, lies, arrogance, institutionalisation of tribalism and nepotism, and impunity, among other ills, that destroyed national cohesion as well as rendered the country fragile and vulnerable.

The reported visit follows a vote in the Senate in Kinshasa last week, overwhelmingly in favour of lifting Kabila's immunity from prosecution over his alleged links to M23.

Bisimwa emphasised that Kabila, like any other Congolese citizen, has the right to associate with opposition movements and should be respected for his past leadership, despite the controversies surrounding him.

Further, the AFC maintained that before M23 took control of Goma, the city was plagued by severe insecurity and humanitarian crises, with civilians trapped in displacement camps and used as human shields by the government.

Prosecutors claim there is a “substantial body of documents, testimony and material facts” linking him to M23, an armed group that has seized several towns in the mineral-rich eastern region.

According to United Nations estimates, Rubaya alone accounts for more than 15 per cent of the world's tantalum supply.

He allegedly colluded with former DRC Central Bank Governor Deogratias Mutombo to illegally divert funds set aside for an agricultural project aimed at addressing the country's chronic food shortages.

The agency is calling for immediate and coordinated action from local, national, and international partners to address what it describes as the most serious hunger emergency the DRC has ever faced.

While the AU-backed Luanda process, launched in 2022 and previously spearheaded by Angolan President João Lourenço, remains formally in place, it is unclear whether the mediation track will now shift to Lomé following Gnassingbé's appointment.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo responded by blaming the Congolese government for destabilising the area through support of armed groups and breaking peace agreements.

ActionAid says the dismantling of these camps by armed groups has increased the risks faced by women and girls, who are often sent back to dangerous areas controlled by militias, where they face further violence, rape, and forced marriage.

Local officials said the Kasaba area was only accessible via Lake Tanganyika and was not covered by the mobile phone network, which could delay humanitarian relief efforts.

The decision highlights tensions over resource control in Congo's mineral-rich eastern regions, where M23 rebel advances have placed strategic mining assets under new administration.

Civilians are caught in a devastating humanitarian crisis involving sexual and gender-based violence. This kind of violence not only contributes to forced displacement, but displaced women are also more at risk of gender-based violence during times of ongoing fighting.

President Felix Tshisekedi and Kabila formed an awkward power-sharing deal following Congo's disputed 2018 election. But Tshisekedi later accused his predecessor of blocking reforms.

In statements released after last month's talks, both sides committed to ending acts of violence and hate speech and called on the Congolese people to support a ceasefire and help create a constructive environment for dialogue.

Boulos said the plan was for Rubio to meet in mid-May in Washington with his Rwandan and Congolese counterparts to agree on a final draft peace accord.

DRC said on Friday that it had become the latest African country to grant a license to Starlink, reversing an earlier ban.

Virtually all banks are closed. Currency shortages abound. With supply chains disrupted, prices of some staples have jumped.

These doses will primarily target the worst-affected areas, particularly focusing on at-risk populations affected by regional displacements due to security challenges.

Many had little choice after M23 dismantled displacement camps upon seizing Goma, eastern DR Congo's largest city, in late January.