Democratic Republic Of Congo

Local rains combined with runoff from torrential rains coming from neighbouring Congo Central Province quickly overwhelmed the city’s small urban tributaries. The Ndjili River and its tributary (Lukaya), which run through the city, overflowed and flooded homes on either side.

In recent weeks, heavy rains caused River Rugumba to overflow, flooding large parts of the Kalemie and Nyunzu territories. The water destroyed homes, schools and farmlands, forcing many to flee with nothing.

The toll from the clashes was not immediately clear. A government statement on Saturday night said 52 people had been killed in and around Goma, though the figure could not be independently verified.

With M23 advancing militarily, civilians bearing the brunt, and rival mediation tracks emerging, the question is no longer who leads the talks — but whether Africa can truly own its peace.

Members of both delegations confirmed their presence in the Qatari capital and said there was a face-to-face meeting on Wednesday, but they were still discussing the framework for talks.

The UN system, in partnership with countries affected, needs to get ahead of the game, facilitating solutions for displaced persons while working to prevent displacement wherever possible, Mazou said, underscoring the importance of scaling up humanitarian support for those repatriated.

Joseph Szlavik-Soto, a lobbyist working for Kinshasa, said the Congolese had also agreed to pay for the damage caused by protesters who attacked the US embassy and other missions earlier this year.

The deaths represent a major loss for the park, which has been working to increase the number of hippos in recent decades after poaching and war reduced the population from over 20,000 to a few hundred by 2006. The park now holds about 1,200 hippos.

The rainfall began late Friday and continued through Saturday morning, leaving major transport routes impassable.

All seven active-duty personnel, including two non-commissioned officers and five professional soldiers, took parental leave between 2023 and 2025. During this period, they engaged in security operations for Romanian private military companies operating in the DRC.

The fighting has raised fears of a wider regional war, as Congo's neighbours, Uganda and Burundi, also have troops in the region.

M23 has seized eastern Congo's two largest cities in a swift advance since January that has resulted in thousands of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands more from their homes.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, which has vast reserves of cobalt, lithium and uranium, among other minerals, has been fighting M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year.

The Americans were among some 50 people, including US, British, Canadian, Belgian and Congolese citizens, who stood trial last year following the botched attempt to overthrow the government in May.

The formation of the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CPR) by Thomas Lubanga comes as Congo's army faces an unprecedented advance by M23 rebels elsewhere in eastern Congo.

Qatar hosted a second round of talks between the two countries beginning on Friday and met separately with M23 representatives. Congolese officials and M23 have not yet met, sources said.

The International Criminal Court secured its first conviction against Lubanga in 2012 on charges of recruiting child soldiers and sentenced him to 14 years in prison.

The plane, which was reportedly expected to land at Kavumu Airport in Bukavu to transport Red Cross International staff to Entebbe, came under attack as it approached its destination.

Congolese and Rwandan officials held talks on Friday, while M23 representatives met separately with Qatari mediators, said two sources from the Congolese government and two from the rebels.

The experts warned that children are increasingly becoming victims of indiscriminate attacks, sexual violence, and recruitment by armed groups amid the worsening conflict.

AFC/M23 will also coordinate the freedom of movement for the withdrawing troops according to the agreed principles.

At an event organised by Amnesty International, experts from Human Rights Watch, and other organisations exposed the dire situation, calling for more action to highlight the plight of the affected population.

Those facing acute hunger are classified as Phase 3 or higher in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Of the 28 million in Congo, 3.9 million are Phase 4, meaning they are experiencing emergency levels of hunger.

Leaders from the main Southern and Eastern Africa political blocs had met on Monday to advance a plan aimed at securing a ceasefire in a conflict rooted in the long fallout from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and competition for control of mineral riches.

The expanded panel will support former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in navigating the complex and volatile conflict that has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo.

Health officials said in February that the condition was suspected to be either malaria or food poisoning.

The medical humanitarian organisation called on all state and non-state armed groups in Ituri to spare civilians as well as healthcare facilities, which are sanctuaries essential to the survival of local communities.

Angola's presidency announced it would "free itself from the responsibility of mediator" in order to focus more on broader African Union priorities.

The prospect of a ceasefire in the strategic town of Walikale, which the M23 rebels captured last week, had briefly fuelled hopes of reviving stalled diplomatic efforts to resolve eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's biggest conflict in decades.

Qatar's mediation efforts have brought Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the table, leveraging strong economic ties to facilitate crucial peace negotiations.

The mineral-rich eastern DRC remains a focal point of conflict, with various armed groups vying for control over resources such as coltan, tin, tantalum, and gold.

It would have been their first direct engagement with DR Congo's government after President Felix Tshisekedi reversed his longstanding refusal to speak to the rebels.

Walikale is the farthest west the rebels have reached in an advance that has already overrun eastern Congo's two largest cities since January.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been internally displaced, while more than 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries in less than three months due to fighting between the M23 group and the Congolese army, according to the UNHCR.

Burundi has received nearly 66,000 Congolese refugees, with the number of new arrivals doubling in recent weeks.

One of the main topics will be AFC/M23’s demand for direct talks with the Congolese government.

Mahmoud said the Luanda process has contributed significantly to creating conditions for dialogue and regional and international engagement.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame had called on Tuesday for an immediate ceasefire after a surprise meeting in Qatar's capital Doha, their first direct talks this year.

Walikale, which is in an area rich in minerals including tin, is the farthest west M23 has reached during its unprecedented advance this year.

At Tuesday's meeting in Qatar, Tshisekedi and Kagame "agreed on the need to continue the discussions initiated in Doha in order to establish solid foundations for lasting peace," the joint statement said.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) urged a broader and more inclusive panel of peace facilitators—effectively pushing back on an earlier list circulated by President William Ruto.

Many residents of Goma expressed confusion over what they saw as the rebel group's disproportionate response to European sanctions.

According to their joint communique, the opening of the two airports in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces will facilitate the withdrawal of SADC troops (SAMIDRC), allow freedom of movement for humanitarian agencies as well as uninterrupted evacuation from the conflict zones.

The Congo River Alliance said in a statement that the EU's actions were aimed at "obstructing the much-anticipated talks".

The conflict in eastern DRC, he noted, continues to "mutate into other forms of threats to human security and dignity," including widespread sexual violence, the illicit trafficking of natural resources, and the erosion of state authority by foreign and local armed groups.

Tshisekedi faces an insurgency by M23 rebels in east DR Congo and his government plans to send a delegation to peace talks in Angola on Tuesday.

One of the key issue that will be discussed is the appointment of the three co-facilitators named by President William Ruto to push the peace processes forward.

President Felix Tshisekedi, who has long ruled out dialogue with M23, had been considering changing his position after a string of defeats.

While the group’s spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, stated on Friday that its representatives would attend the meeting, it has not yet confirmed who will be engaging with the DRC government in what will be their first-ever direct talks.

Under Mobutu's successors, Laurent and Joseph Kabila, the army was infiltrated by Rwanda, among other nations.

Tshisekedi's government has so far not committed publicly, but three government sources told Reuters this week he was seriously considering sending a delegation.

Rebels of the M23 group have seized east Congo's two biggest cities since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda's 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and the struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral resources.

M23 want the mediation team to formally involve all stakeholders in its initiative and its terms of reference citing knowledge of the mediation offer through social media.

The decision announced in a communique further ordered the troops to begin their phased withdrawal from Goma.

Congo's government has said at least 7,000 people have died in the fighting since January. At least 600,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since November, according to the U.N. humanitarian affairs office.

The M23 rebellion, which has intensified in recent months, has triggered massive displacements and deepened the humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo.

President Felix Tshisekedi has recently accused him of sponsoring the M23 rebels who have seized east Congo's two biggest cities since January.

The M23 rebel group, believed to be backed by Rwanda, has seized swathes of mineral-rich eastern Congo since the start of the year.

The likelihood of their arrest remains uncertain, given the military's struggles against the well-equipped rebels.

The proposed agreement would give U.S. companies rights to mine strategic resources, including cobalt and uranium while providing the Congolese government with military support.

A report from the DRC Education Cluster, which includes Save the Children on Friday, reveals that school attendance has plummeted due to intensified fighting since January.

The group called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to reject what they referred to as "erroneous and malicious interpretations" of the situation.

M23 fighters raided CBCA Ndosho Hospital and Heal Africa Hospital during the night of February 28, taking 116 and 15 patients respectively.

The letter, sent by Aaron Poynton, a US businessman and lobbyist tasked by Kinshasa last June with organising a roundtable for US and Congolese business and political leaders, describes Congo's minerals as a strategic asset for US economic and security interests.

As the city of Bukavu tries to recover from the violence, human rights groups and medical organisations are calling for immediate international assistance.

Should a previously unknown pathogen be identified as the cause, health authorities will need to increase measures to contain the spread of the disease.

Reports indicate that the M23 has expanded its control of mining sites in the region thereby increasing its monthly taxes.

The finger-pointing over Thursday's incident has further inflamed tensions in eastern Congo, where a rebel advance this year has drawn in neighbouring armies, raising fears of a regional war.

He will be deputised by Dunia Masumbuko Bwenge, Vice-Governor in charge of Political, Administrative, and Legal Affairs) and Gishinge Gasinzira Juvénal – (Vice-Governor in charge of Economic, Financial, and Development Affairs).

This high-level engagement comes at a time when violence in eastern DRC has intensified, with Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka revealing at the Human Rights Council in Geneva that over 7,000 people have been killed since January. 

People ran through the streets, some bleeding and carrying limp bodies, video showed. Residents said they saw dead bodies, but there was no immediate information on the number of casualties.

As of February 16, there have been 431 cases and 53 deaths in two outbreaks in remote villages in separate health zones in Equateur province, the WHO said in a bulletin. 

The defence experts warned that the situation in eastern DRC has deteriorated drastically since the Joint EAC-SADC Summit on February 8, 2025.

Britain said it would also coordinate with partners on potential new sanctions and suspend future defence training assistance to Rwanda.

The United Nations has warned of surging child recruitment, abductions, killings and sexual violence as the rebels, known as M23, press on after seizing more territory in eastern Congo than ever before.

The other facilitators are Nigeria's former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Ethiopia's former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

According to Kabila, the unrest could not solely be blamed on the advances of the M23 armed movement or tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali. Instead, he argued that the root causes of the crisis lay in deeper political and governance failures.

The rebel group also expressed gratitude to regional leaders and international partners for their continuous efforts in facilitating a political resolution to the ongoing conflict.

Tshisekedi told a meeting of the ruling Sacred Union coalition not to be distracted by internal quarrels.

The French-drafted U.N. resolution "strongly condemns the ongoing offensive and advances of the M23 in North-Kivu and South Kivu" and demands that M23 immediately stop its hostilities and withdraw.

This meeting marks a renewed effort by regional actors to contain the escalating violence in the eastern DRC, which has seen an increase in clashes involving armed groups, displacements, and cross-border tensions.

Fighting with the M23 has continued outside the town, in the southern part of the wider Lubero territory, for the past 72 hours, Congolese army spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge told Reuters.

Residents and officials described scenes of looting, bodies lying in the street, and government soldiers commandeering boats to flee across Lake Tanganyika. The local prison was also emptied, they said.

The deployment follows recent statements by Gen. Kainerugaba, who last week threatened to capture Bunia in response to alleged attacks on the Bahima ethnic group.

Burundi has had soldiers in eastern Congo for years, initially to hunt down Burundian rebels there, but more recently, to aid in the fight against M23.

Three Congolese military sources said the decision to retreat was made to avoid the bloodshed that accompanied the fall of Goma, eastern Congo's largest city, in late January, during which about 3,000 people were killed, according to the United Nations.

She also voiced concern for journalists, human rights defenders and members of civil society organisations who are seeking protection from reprisals by M23.

Before the conflict's latest escalation, the education system in eastern DRC was already under severe strain due to the displacement of millions.