Democratic Republic of the Congo

[…] Reports have suggested the presence of Russian mercenaries in North Kivu province on government’s invitation to help deal with the rebel group [M23].

Suspected CODECO militants killed at least 24 civilians over the weekend in several villages of eastern DR Congo’s troubled Ituri province, local civilian sources said Monday.

United Nations intelligence analysts have spotted suspected movements by M23 rebels in parts of eastern Congo from which they were meant to have withdrawn and signs the armed group has seized ground in other areas, internal UN documents showed on Thursday.

[…] MONUSCO has launched a new operation to protect civilians in North Kivu province, the epicenter of the ongoing conflict in eastern DR Congo. The move came shortly after fighting resumed on Sunday between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the rebel group M23, 70 kilometers north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

A withdrawal announced 10 days ago by the M23 rebel group from a strategic town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has not been “effective,” locals said on Monday.

The European Union on Saturday urged Rwanda to stop supporting the M23 rebel group, which has captured swaths of territory in the North Kivu province of neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

France has openly condemned Rwanda's support for the M23 rebel movement in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo who are suspected of massacring at least 131 civilians in late November.

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution Tuesday that eases a weapons embargo on the Democratic Republic of Congo, a move hailed by Kinshasa as an “injustice repaired.”

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) — alongside its Intervention Brigade — for one year, … .

In the coming weeks, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will likely pass a resolution renewing the mandate of MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The resolution is an opportunity for the UNSC to provide new direction to MONUSCO and respond to broader protection challenges facing the DRC.