Democratic Republic of the Congo

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.

Fresh fighting erupted on Wednesday in DR Congo’s troubled east between army troops and the M23 rebel group after a week of relative calm, local sources said. … Last week, a helicopter with the UN peacekeeping mission crashed while on reconnaissance over the area, killing eight peacekeepers. The cause is being investigated.

The UN chief on Tuesday together with the Security Council, strongly condemned an attack by suspected militia members, on peacekeepers serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which left one Nepali ‘blue helmet’ dead.

[…] Some 250 peacekeepers are set to withdraw from Monusco, the UN mission for the stabilisation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is the largest Ukrainian contingent in the peacekeeping missions.

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 20 civilians in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo overnight, according to a local resident and an activist who criticised the failure of Congolese and Ugandan forces to stop the repeated massacres.

UN pledges more support for internally displaced persons in Ituri province

The United Nations will work together with the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as other partners, in ensuring security in the eastern part of the country, said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN’s top peacekeeping official.