Head of M23’s political wing Bertrand Bisimwa, termed the group’s efforts as an “existential war” to protect Congolese Tutsis, who he claims have long faced discrimination due to their ethnic links to Rwanda.

Around 60 Chinese nationals were at the site and officials detained the 17 who appeared to be in charge.

Around 60 Chinese nationals were at the site and officials detained 17 who appeared to be in charge, along with some people from Congo and Burundi.

The Democratic Republic of Congo accuses Apple of using minerals sourced from illegal mining. DRC communities affected by illicit mining explore the potential ramifications of a victory against the US tech giant.

The operation to guard farmers who grow corn, beans, potatoes and manioc is known as "Secure Harvest" and it aims to allow them to work freely during the harvesting season and provide protection from militia groups who steal produce and kill people.

The renewal means nearly 11,000 peacekeepers will continue their deployment until at least December 2025.

The last significant military reshuffle took place in October 2022, when Tshisekedi appointed Tshiwewe as chief of staff.

Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the southwestern Kwango province in November.

Some artisanal mines are run by armed groups involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, looting and other crimes, according to UN experts and human rights groups.

The doses' arrival will boost hopes of curbing the outbreak, which the WHO has declared a global public health emergency.

So far, the DRC has recorded 406 cases of the undiagnosed disease. Severe cases have been reported among severely malnourished people, including 31 deaths, mostly children.

Retired military officers from Europe protect the DRC capital of North Kivu from falling to Rwandan-backed rebels. The job is well paid but soldiers must also deal with a better-armed adversary.

The symptoms of the disease, the cause of which has not been established, are fever, headache, cough, runny nose and body aches.

Symptoms of the illness include headache, cough, fever, breathing difficulties and anaemia, according to the WHO.

A medical team has been deployed to the Panzi health zone to collect samples and carry out an analysis to know the root cause of the disease.

The summit acknowledged the complexities arising from the parallel peace initiatives and called for their consolidation into a single, jointly managed process.

A local civil society group said seven homes had been swept away and 31 damaged, putting the death toll at 10.

They also welcomed the continued efforts of the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council in exploring options to support SAMIDRC.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country's current realities.

A police officer present at the scene on Tuesday morning told Reuters that the coffin where the tooth had been was "open and empty".

The Ruzizi dam located at the south end of Lake Kivu, which borders Rwanda, supplies the city of Bukavu and others with electricity and the power outages are hurting local businesses.

He added that a team would be dispatched to carry out investigations into each mining company to prevent the exploitation of the local population.

CODECO is one of a myriad of militias fighting over land and resources in eastern DR Congo.

The two processes seek to address the two dimensions that define the security challenges in the Eastern DRC.

The motive for the attacks was not clear but militia violence in Congo is linked to long-running competition for influence and the region's rich mineral resources.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group, are alleged to have killed more than 40 people in an attack on Mayikengo village this week and over 80 in attacks on other villages in the province the previous week.

The incident was caused by night sailing, Rita Bola Dula, Mai-Ndombe province governor, told Reuters, adding that the investigations continued.

All 53 face charges including illegal arms possession, criminal conspiracy, terrorism and attempts to destabilise state institutions and undermine the integrity of the state.

US strongly condemned the attack that claimed nine lives on May 3 this year.

The head of the Lac Vert district where the incident occurred, Dedesi Mitima, told Reuters he had seen the bodies of seven children and two men at the camp.