Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo told the Security Council on Monday that “a lasting solution” to the violence “requires a broader political commitment to address the root causes of conflict.” 

The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the world body’s peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo during discussions later this month in New York. But as the mission – known by its French acronym MONUSCO – makes plans to draw down and eventually exit the country, discussions on its future must be informed by the needs of Congolese civilians and civil society groups on the ground.

[…] The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) have announced joint ground operations in DRC to hunt down ADF rebels, in addition to the joint aerial operation launched on Tuesday morning.

A new attack on the Ivo displaced people’s camp in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday claimed the lives of 22 civilians, an aid worker said. The same camp was attacked less than a week ago when 29 people were killed.

Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced at least 11,000 people to flee to neighbouring Uganda since Sunday night, representing the largest refugee influx in a single day for more than a year, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday. 

South Kivu Governor Theo Ngwabidje Kasi told reporters on Wednesday that six attackers, two police officers and a soldier were killed in the gun battles.

The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to attract the attention of the United Nations amid fear that the country could relapse to violence ahead of 2023 polls. Last week, the UN Security Council met to analyse the general situation in the DRC. And while the African members called for strengthening of institutions and a restructure of the UN mission operations there, how to deter violations in future remains DRC’s biggest headache.

More than 1,200 civilians have been killed in the restive DR Congo provinces of Ituri and North Kivu so far this year and millions of people now need humanitarian aid in the eastern region, the UN refugee agency said Friday. Democratic Republic of Congo authorities declared a state of siege in May, an exceptional measure aimed at ending the reign of terror by armed groups operating in the region, most notably the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group linked to ISIS.

At least 30 people were killed in a weekend attack in the restive northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, local and UN sources said on Monday. The jihadists of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are suspected to have carried out the attack in the Ituri area on Saturday, they said. … ADF jihadists have killed over 850 civilians in 2020 alone.