Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s army accused neighboring Rwanda on Wednesday of deploying 500 special forces troops on its soil, as tensions flare between the two central African states. The accusation comes amid a sharp deterioration of relations between the countries over the recent resurgence of the M23 militia in the DRC’s volatile east.

Islamic State on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 15 civilians in a village in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, the militant group said on an affiliated Telegram channel.

The recent resurgence of the M23 armed group in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) constitutes a serious threat to peace, security and stability in the region, and urgent action towards curbing the violence is needed, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

The atmosphere between Kinshasa and Kigali is explosive, with the two governments trading blame once more over brutal rebels. Experts say the longstanding dispute will persist until past issues are resolved.

Militants killed at least 20 civilians last week in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a monitoring group said Monday, in the latest massacre in the conflict-torn region.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to investigate deadly armed group attacks in Djugu Territory, Ituri Province, on Sunday. At least 38 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the attacks carried out by the Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) at the Blakete-Plitu mining site.

United Nations (UN) planning to reduce its footprint in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was part of a recent visit to the troubled central African country by a delegation from the world body’s General Assembly (GA) fifth committee.

Analysts are questioning the East African Community’s capacity to equip a multinational military force formed to battle insurgencies in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Last week, the seven nations that make up the regional body announced the force’s mission would be to ''end decades of bloodshed," Reuters reported.

The African Union and the United Nations have backed an eastern Africa initiative to bring peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), boosting chances for a local solution to the conflict.

After a ten-year lull, M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo have attacked Congolese soldiers. As a result, tens of thousands of people have fled to neighboring Uganda, fearing renewed violence.