Demokratische Republik Kongo

U.S. President Donald Trump will bring leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda together in Washington on Thursday to sign new deals aimed at stabilizing a war-scarred region and attracting Western mining investment.

Peace in the DRC's northeast remains elusive, as the respective nations' leaders and their top representatives appear to be inching a proverbial step forward — only to then take two steps back again.

Seventeen civilians, including women in labour and patients receiving care, were slaughtered inside a Catholic Church-run health centre in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week. The UN described it as one of the most appalling attacks in a new wave of violence by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed extremist rebel group.

[…] The framework, officially the Doha Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of the DRC and the AFC (Alliance Fleuve Congo)/M23 (Mouvement du 23 Mars), was signed by representatives from all three on Saturday 15 November in the Qatari capital.

The crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen amid ongoing fighting that has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes and created acute hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.

Rwandan and DR Congo delegations have renewed their commitment to advancing peace, stability, and cooperation following high-level talks held this week in Washington.

Speaking to journalists at the UN Office at Geneva, Shoko Arakaki, director of humanitarian affairs at the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA), said that essential services have been severely disrupted, while incidents of rape and conflict-related sexual violence have surged by a third compared to last year.

Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila has announced a movement to "save" his country, after a meeting with other opposition leaders in Kenya's capital Nairobi. The meeting, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, resolved to rally Congolese to oppose the "dictatorship" of President Félix Tshisekedi, according to a document seen by the BBC.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the M23 rebel group agreed on Tuesday to establish an international body to oversee the ceasefire they agreed to in July but which has so far failed to end the fighting.

There is now “real hope” for a ceasefire which would pave the way for a lasting and definitive settlement of the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Huang Xia, told the Security Council on Monday.  … Mr. Xia praised the United States and Qatar for their tireless efforts in facilitating peace negotiations and expressed hope that talks would soon resume, leading to the adoption of a lasting peace agreement.