Demokratische Republik Kongo

Tanzania will host a joint summit of two regional blocs to which the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) belongs, signaling a new step to try and find common ground on the crisis caused by a war between M23 rebels and the Congolese army.

Recent events in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with the fall of North Kivu’s capital, Goma, as a provisional low, are inscribed in a decades-long evolution.

Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi has vowed to restore government authority in the east, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized control of the city of Goma and are reportedly advancing south to take more territory. … He criticised the international community for "inaction" and for not doing enough in the wake of the escalating security crisis.

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said he agreed with the U.S. government on the need for a ceasefire in eastern Congo but gave no indication of bowing to calls for Rwandan troops and the M23 rebels they support to withdraw from Goma.

As the Security Council convened an emergency meeting for the second time in three days to address the worsening situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a senior United Nations official warned that escalating attacks by the 23 March Movement, or M23, continue to kill civilians and peacekeeping personnel in and around the city of Goma. 

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) continues to provide support to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in their efforts to halt the territorial expansion of the “March 23 Movement” (M23) armed group in North Kivu province. 

[…] The advance marks a turning point for the M23 since it launched a fresh insurgency into Congo's mineral-rich east in March 2022, analysts say.

More than 230,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year amid escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations. The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday described the displacement as “the most alarming” humanitarian crisis in the world.

M23 rebels are establishing control over key mineral-rich territories in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), United Nations experts have warned. 

Recent fighting in part of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced more than 100,000 people over the last week, the United Nations humanitarian affairs office said Tuesday. M23 rebels on Saturday seized control of Masisi, a key town in the mineral-rich DRC.