Demokratische Republik Kongo

Despite numerous regional and international diplomatic initiatives, the security situation remains critical in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Security Council heard on Wednesday. In a briefing to ambassadors, UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region Huang Xia called for increased coordination of peace processes.

Kabila this week announced his intention to leave South Africa, where he has been exiled since December 2023, and address the deteriorating security situation in eastern DRC. His return comes amid accusations from President Felix Tshisekedi that Kabila supports the AFC/M23 rebels responsible for recent military advances, including capturing key cities Bukavu and Goma.

[…] Spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva via video link from Goma that children could account for up to 45 per cent of the nearly 10,000 cases of rape and sexual violence documented in January and February, amid heightened tensions between Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Government forces across the mineral-rich region, where dozens of armed groups are active. This translates to a horrifying reality – “a child was raped every half an hour,” he said.

Congolese officials and negotiators for the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have arrived in Doha for talks to hammer out a ceasefire and end months of fighting that have raised fears of a wider regional conflict, four sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Some 41,000 refugees have crossed from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into Uganda since January, many of them having witnessed killings, “sexual violence and other traumatic experience during their flight,” said the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday.

Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with 602 victims of extrajudicial or summary executions in North and South Kivu recorded over just two months, the Human Rights Council heard on Tuesday.

The convicted war criminal, Thomas Lubanga, based in Uganda, has declared the formation of a new rebel movement - the Convention for the Popular Revolution - aimed at overthrowing the government in Ituri province, eastern Congo, posing yet another security threat in the conflict-ravaged region. 

As the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has intensified in recent months, the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, has been working to protect civilians - including in areas under the control of the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in North Kivu province.

Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and ex-Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo remain on the team, while former Ethiopian president Sahle-Work Zewde replaces another ex-Ethiopian leader, Hailemariam Desalegn. Former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe and ex-Central African Republic president Catherine Samba-Panza were added. … The moves come after Angola stepped aside from the negotiations on Monday, citing other engagements on its mandate as the head of the African Union.  

Since its deployment in December 2023, the regional force has failed to push back M23 and has suffered several casualties. SAMIDRC’s withdrawal is the second SADC deployment that has ended inconclusively – the first being the bloc’s mission in Mozambique. Why are these military interventions failing, and what does this mean for future regional operations?