Demokratische Republik Kongo

About 200,000 people have fled their homes in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in recent days, the United Nations says, as Rwanda-backed rebels swarm a strategic town just days after a United States-led peace effort, which now appears under severe threat.

The United Nations on Friday welcomed a newly signed peace accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda as a “critical step” toward restoring trust, while warning that active fighting near border areas continue to exact a heavy toll on civilians. The Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity were officially signed the day before in Washington DC, facilitated by the United States.

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.