Democratic Republic of the Congo

Soldiers from Burundi have deployed to the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as the first part of a recently created East African regional force to respond to crises. … Tensions between the DRC and Rwanda, which the former has accused of supporting the recently resurgent M23 rebel group, in part led to the East African Community creating the regional force earlier this year.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Africa did not achieve much in finding a solution to thorny relations between Rwanda and Congo. But his high-profile trip was probably not completely in vain.

Read also: The Potential and Limits of the New U.S. Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, CSIS.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday to raise concerns that tensions with neighboring Rwanda could spread instability in the region. Political analysts say the United States is also concerned about Russia and China's access to rare earth minerals in the DRC.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has asked the spokesperson of the UN peacekeepers’ mission (Monusco) to leave the country, signalling a collapse in relations spiked by demonstrations against the foreign troops.

Soldiers returning from leave to a United Nations intervention brigade in Democratic Republic of Congo opened fire at a border post, killing at least two people and injuring 15 others, Congo's government and the U.N. peacekeeping force said on Sunday.

The acting head of the United Nations mission in eastern Congo said Wednesday that it would carry out a joint investigation with national police into the shooting deaths of three peacekeepers and a dozen Congolese civilians during anti-U.N. protests this week.

Lavrov has already visited Egypt and will head to Uganda as Moscow aims at strengthening its ties with the continent.

Clashes have broken out in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between its military and M23 rebels, a civil society and a rebel source said, a day after a bilateral agreement to de-escalate diplomatic tensions over the rebellion.

[…] The AFP news agency reported that a roadmap toward normalizing diplomatic ties between Congo and Rwanda included ending hostilities between rebel groups of Congo, M23 and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by their French initials FDLR.

The top U.N. official for the Democratic Republic of the Congo said Wednesday that the resurgent M23 rebel group in the country’s east is well-armed and equipped, posing a growing threat to civilians.