Democratic Republic of the Congo

Washington on Thursday labeled the ADF militia, suspected of hundreds of civilian killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s east, a “foreign terrorist organization” linked to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

Child soldiers and other victims of Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda are to be awarded millions of dollars by the International Criminal Court.

On February 23, the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Luca Attanasio, his bodyguard Vittorio Iacovacci and their driver Mustapha Milambo were killed in eastern Congo. They were part of a convoy that travelled from the World Food Programme's compound in Goma, eastern Congo. … Questions are being asked as to who did it and why. These quickly lead to a murky terrain.

The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a World Food Programme (WFP) staff member, together with an Italian embassy official, were killed on Monday during an attack on a UN convoy in the east of the country, the agency has said. 

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR says it is alarmed by atrocities committed by armed groups against civilians in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The agency is reporting killings and kidnappings are continuing this year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s volatile North Kivu province.

Atrocities committed by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have become part of a systematic pattern to disrupt lives, instill fear and create havoc, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday, expressing alarm over the ongoing situation. 

Fighters believed to belong to the ADF militia have killed at least 12 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s east, local sources said Sunday. The gruesome attack took place overnight Friday-Saturday after a month of relative calm in the area.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has warned against potential crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following a spike in attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) armed group, in two provinces in the east of the country. 

DR Congo lawmakers on Wednesday approved a motion to force out Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba, handing President Felix Tshisekedi a key victory in his bid to sideline allies of his predecessor.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Bintou Keita of Guinea as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).