Demokratische Republik Kongo

Human rights experts warn the always-shaky security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is deteriorating further, as armed violence by Congolese and foreign forces battling for control of the region intensifies and threatens to spread throughout the country and beyond.

Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday appointed Judith Suminwa as Prime Minister, making her the country's first ever female to hold the position. The new Prime Minister replaces Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, who resigned at the end of February as a legal requirement after he won a parliamentary seat. 

Insecurity in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has worsened since the end of recent elections, UN Special Representative Bintou Keita told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

Angolan President João Lourenço, AU’s envoy for the Great Lakes and the region’s mediator into the tensions, has recently tried to implore on both sides to choose dialogue. On Thursday March 21, high-level Congolese and Rwandan delegations met in Luanda to prepare for the meeting between Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame.

The UN chief on Saturday condemned an attack which saw eight peacekeepers from the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, wounded during clashes between the powerful M23 rebel movement and Government troops. 

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame is open to a meeting with President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi to discuss the ongoing crisis in eastern DRC, with the date and location yet to be determined.

[…] Nyanzale is about 130 km north by road from the provincial capital Goma, and is home to thousands of internally displaced people who fled fighting in surrounding areas.

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) on Tuesday endorsed the deployment of troops from southern African nations with an offensive mandate in the restive Democratic Republic of Congo. The move was reached during the Council’s virtual meeting held to discuss the situation in eastern Congo and the deployment of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in Congo known as SAMIDRC.

In an interview, Christophe Lutundula calls for international sanctions against Kigali, accusing it of supporting the rebel movement M23.

In a statement, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) said it handed over its first base at Kamanyola, on the border with Burundi, to the national police, launching its phased withdrawal from eastern DR Congo.