🇨🇩🇷🇼 DR Congo, Rwanda commanders face sanctions over violence

The US, Britain and European Union are to announce fresh sanctions targeting military commanders and militia leaders involved in the ongoing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

This fresh round of sanctions will target military commanders from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Diplomats have told that others on the list include leaders from the M23 rebel group and the Islamic State affiliate ADF.

#DRC #Rwanda

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🇨🇩 DR Congo ruling coalition backs Tshisekedi for December vote

Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi was officially nominated on Sunday as candidate for the December 20 presidential election by his ruling political coalition the Sacred Union.

His rule has been mired by economic hardship, the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola outbreaks and persistent insecurity, particularly in the east where the resurgent M23 rebel group seized swathes of territory leading to a breakdown of relations with neighbouring Rwanda.

On Sunday, a congress of the Sacred Union coalition that includes political heavyweights such as Defence Minister Jean Pierre Bemba and Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe, picked Tshisekedi unanimously.

Tshisekedi, the son of Congo's beloved long-term opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, promised to root out corruption and authoritarianism and has rejected accusations by rights groups and critics that he has fallen short on his promises.

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🇨🇩🇷🇼 DR Congo accuses rebels and Rwanda of hindering poll

The DR Congo is warning that around 1.5 million voters living in areas controlled by the M23 rebel group will be unable to take part in elections in December.

Government spokesperson said they were in the process of resettling an additional one million people displaced by conflict in the region.

He added that it might be difficult for the electoral commission to access areas under "M23 and Rwanda" adding that calling off the election was not an option.

DR Congo has previously accused Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group - a charge that Rwanda has consistently denied. The M23 is largely made up of ethnic Tutsis, the same group which dominates the government in Rwanda.

The M23 rebel group is in control of Rutshuru and parts of Masisi in North Kivu province.

#DRC #Rwanda

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🇨🇩🇺🇳 Conflict uproots record 6.9 million people in DR Congo reported the International Organization for Migration

Conflict and escalating violence have uprooted a record 6.9 million people in the DR Congo, mostly in the east of the country, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Most of those forced to flee their homes live in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika, according to the data collected by the United Nations.

In North Kivu alone, up to one million people have been displaced due the ongoing conflict with a Tutsi-led rebel group M23, IOM said.

IOM said since June it had built 3,347 emergency shelters and distributed 7,715 kits with non-food supplies but warned that operations remain underfunded.

#DRC #UN

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🇨🇩🇺🇳 DRC army and UN launch Operation Springbok as M23 threatens key towns

DRC government troops and United Nations peacekeepers launched a joint operation aimed at reinforcing security around the capital of the North Kivu province, Goma.

The city as well as Sake face threats from several armed groups, including from the M23 rebels. Group which Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting.

United Nations experts concluded in a report that Rwanda backs the M23, although Kigali denies the claim.

The UN's Force commander emphasised his forces commitment to helping the Congolese troops.

The new joint operation, named Springbok, has established several fresh defensive positions, with UN armored vehicles and heavily armed troops seen deployed in the hilly terrain near Sake.

#DRC #UN

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🇨🇩 Rebel fighting cuts power lines to DR Congo city of Goma

The main power lines to the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been cut due to an escalation in rebel fighting nearby, leaving hospitals and water systems without power.

Virunga National Park, which operates the network that supplies about 80% of Goma's electricity, said on Monday that clashes between Congo's army and the M23 rebels had severed the main power lines to Goma, a city of over 2 million people and the capital of North Kivu province.

A spokesperson for the park said on Tuesday that engineers had managed to access the site to begin repairing the main line, but that bombing continued around them.

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🇺🇳🇨🇩 The UN prepares the early departure from DRC

The UN Security Council is expected to launch on Tuesday an early but gradual withdrawal of peacekeepers from the DR Congo from the end of 2023, as requested by Kinshasa.

Despite this situation in the east, the Congolese government has been calling for months for an "accelerated" withdrawal of Blue helmets, from the end of 2023 and not the end of 2024. It considers the UN force ineffective in protecting civilians against armed groups and militias that have been raging for three decades in eastern DRC.

Several members of the Council, notably the United States, have expressed doubts in recent months about the fact that the Congolese forces are ready to replace MONUSCO to ensure the security of the population.

From May 2024, MONUSCO will only be present in North Kivu and Ituri. From July 1, its workforce will be reduced by some 2,350 people.

#UN #DRC

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