Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Rwandan army and the M23 armed group have indiscriminately shelled displacement camps and other densely populated areas near Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo throughout 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. The Congolese armed forces (Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo, FARDC) and allied militias have increased the risk faced by displaced people in the camps by deploying artillery nearby.

[…] UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who visited the Congo this weekend, said that December 31, 2024, which was supposed to be the date for the total withdrawal of Monusco troops, has never formally been agreed on by all the parties.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) was predictably on the agenda of the recent SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government convened in Zimbabwe. … The communiqué issued by the recent SADC Summit highlighted several important issues, including the need for diplomatic solutions to the conflicts in eastern DRC and financial and logistical support for SAMIDRC.

Prosecutors seek the death penalty for 50 of the 51 men on trial over May's coup attempt in DR Congo. About half a dozen of the defendants are foreign nationals, including three Americans. 

Peace remains elusive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where fighting still rages. A cease-fire deal between the government and M23 rebels has not been fully respected, worsening the humanitarian crisis.

[…] For the past year, the Congolese army has been supporting several militias like the APCLS, using them as proxies to combat the M23 rebel group, which has seized swathes of territory in the east of the country with the backing of thousands of Rwandan troops.

A military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has sentenced 26 people accused of involvement in armed groups, including the M23, to death after a high-profile trial that started late last month.

A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution adopted this week makes available UN peacekeeping resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – under strict conditions – to the tri-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission in the country’s troubled eastern region.

Rebels from the M23 movement captured a border town in eastern DR Congo without a fight Sunday, local sources said, the same day a cease-fire between DR Congo and neighboring Rwanda was meant to come into force. Ishasha, on the border with Uganda, was the latest town to fall to the majority-ethnic Tutsi movement backed by Rwanda.

A ceasefire beginning on Aug. 4 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was agreed on Tuesday following talks between DRC and Rwanda, the Angola presidency, which has been mediating the talks, said in a statement. The statement did not specify which parties had agreed to the ceasefire, nor how long it would last.