Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has agreed to send troops to eastern DR Congo by the end of September 2023.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is preparing for elections due on December 20, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission. If all goes well, this could become the first election scheduled and conducted on time in a long time, allowing the country to maintain or change leadership by peaceful means only for the second time in history.

A quadripartite summit of four regional blocs has demanded an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an effort to end the decades-long war.

The withdrawal of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) must not create security vacuums and jeopardize the protection of civilians, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as speakers called for a gradual, responsible and conditions-based transition.

A senior UN official warned the Security Council on Monday that the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has continued to deteriorate over the past three months, despite a lull in fighting between M23 rebels and the national army (FARDC). 

The United Nations has again accused Rwanda of offering support to the M23 rebel group that is fighting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government.

At least 46 people, half of them children, were killed in a militia attack on a camp for displaced people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where civilians are suffering increasing violence.

A top UN official said Wednesday, during a visit to DR Congo, that peacekeepers should withdraw from the conflict-torn central African country “as quickly as possible” yet responsibly. Addressing reporters in the capital Kinshasa, UN Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, also warned that the Congolese state had to step up its own response to armed groups to avoid creating a “security void that would be fatal.”

Rwanda wants the M23 rebel group to be part of the dialogue to restore peace in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a proposal that could potentially kick up a storm in Kinshasa.

A regional force set up to tackle militia violence in East Democratic Republic of Congo has been extended to September, a minister and a spokesperson for the force said on Wednesday.