Democratic Republic of the Congo

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.

[…] “Over the past weeks, the security situation in eastern DRC has deteriorated dramatically”, said Special Representative Bintou Keita, noting that since October, the M23 rebel group had resumed hostilities and extended its control in North Kivu province.

M23 rebels killed at least 131 civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on November 29-30, according to preliminary findings, the UN mission in the country said.

A third round of peace talks for the Democratic Republic of Congo has ended in Nairobi with no reported progress toward settling conflicts in the country’s volatile eastern provinces. … However, the chief mediator at the conference, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, serving as peace envoy from the East African Community regional bloc, said this was the beginning of peace in Congo.

A fresh round of EAC-led talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and armed militia operational in the eastern DRC has opened in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi without, however, the presence of the M23 Tutsi rebel group that Kinshasa says is being supported by Kigali. A ceasefire between Congolese government troops and M23 rebels appears to be holding in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo despite some clashes reported between rival militias.