Briefings
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30 July – 5 August 2015
The last week has seen conflicting accounts of the number of FDLR combatants still at large in eastern DRC with Congolese government estimates suggesting less than 400 and MONUSCO putting the figure close to 1,000. The two Congolese soldiers arrested in Nyiragongo (North Kivu) on the border between Rwanda and the DRC by Rwandan forces at the end of July were released on Saturday, 1 August, and rep
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23 – 29 July 2015
Burundi’s presidential election results were posted on Friday, 24 July, placing Agathon Rwasa in second place to incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza. International observers have condemned the elections as unfree, not credible and uninclusive in light of the volatile election climate, which last Thursday saw Amnesty International denounce the excessive use of force against demonstrators […]
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9-15 July 2015
As talks on MONUSCO/FARDC collaboration continue, the UN has dropped demands for the replacement of two human rights red-listed Congolese generals from the counter FDLR offensive in the country’s east. Martin Kobler has stressed the centrality of a continued and constructive partnership between the UN force and the Congolese government to ensuring the success of […]
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25 June – 1 July 2015
This week saw tensions in eastern political circles over Kinshasa’s lack of mobilisation regarding the Ugandan incursion onto Congolese soil a month ago, as well as the filing of a corruption and fraud complaint by a presidential special adviser against four provincial governors, including Moïse Katumbi. In North Kivu, a special police unit deployed to Rutshuru has been accused by local civil soci
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18 – 24 June 2015
Thursday, 18 June, saw the end of the EUSEC mandate for the provision of military reform assistance to the Congolese authorities. As the mission officially closed its doors, a mid-term evaluation of FARDC reform progress was launched in Kinshasa. In North Kivu, ex-FDLR combatants have accused the FARDC of kidnapping three demobilised persons from Kangabayonga transit camp in Lubero territory. Mean
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11 – 17 June 2015
Thursday 11 June saw UN Special Envoy, Said Djinnit, step down as mediator to the political dialogue between opposing factions in Burundi’s political crisis following cries of no confidence by third term opposition groups. The African Union has called for further postponement of Burundi’s 15 July presidential elections, whilst stating that it will deploy military experts to advise police on managi
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4 – 10 June 2015
MONUSCO has welcomed the appointment of Brigadier General Marcel Mbangu as the new head of the Sokola I operation this week – a move forming part of a number of operational changes to the counter-ADF offensive. In North Kivu, Monday 2 June saw ten dead, including four civilians, in clashes between rival Mai-Mai factions, causing considerable displacement from the Waloa-Uroba groupement, Walikale.
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28 May – 3 June 2015
As the EU suspended its election monitoring mission to Burundi last week and the catholic church announced the withdrawal of its assistance for the organisation of the forthcoming elections, protests resumed on the streets of Bujumbura on Thursday, 28 May. The police response to demonstrations, which has included the firing of live ammunition
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21 – 27 May 2015
As further calls were made for the appointment of a US Envoy to the Great Lakes Region this week, Bujumbura was rocked by a grenade attack on a crowded market place on Friday, 22 May, killing two. The attack was followed on Saturday by the murder of UPD opposition leader, Zedi Feruzi, in a drive by shooting. Feruzi’s assassination has prompted widespread condemnation
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14 – 20 May 2015
This week saw heavy fighting in Bujumbura following an attempted coup d’etat on Wednesday, 13 May, by former intelligence chief Major General Godefroid Niyombare. The attempt was made during the incumbent president’s attendance of an East African Community summit on the crisis in the country and is said to have been backed by a number of senior army and police officials. […]
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30 April – 6 May 2015
Burundi took media centre stage throughout the week as protests over incumbent President Nkurunziza’s decision to stand for a third term continued since its announcement on 26 April 2015. By 1 May, violent demonstrations had seen at least 6 deaths and 66 wounded in clashes between police and protesters in Bujumbura, with hundreds more reportedly arrested.
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23-29 April 2015
The Democratic Republic of Congo this week has seen continued reports of foreign incursions on Congolese soil. Rwanda Defence Force soldiers are alleged to have invaded North Kivu border localities like Bunagana, and other groupements of Virunga National Park, leading to FARDC deployment to the border regions. In Beni, civil society has reported raids by Ugandan People’s Defence Force soldiers on
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16-22 April 2015
Following UN Security Council resolution 2211, seeking to strengthen cooperation between MONUSCO and the Congolese authorities through the forging of a strategic alliance, UN Head of Peace Keeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, arrived in Kinshasa on 21 April to start a five day visit to the country. North Kivu has seen reports of an incursion by one hundred Rwandan Defence Force soldiers in Nyiragong
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26 March – 8 April 2015
The end of March brought the renewal of MONUSCO’s mandate for another year by the UN Security Council, together with a 10% reduction in troop presence that will see the departure of around 2,000 personnel. In North Kivu, last week there were reports of FDLR killings and abuses against civilians in Masisi, Rutshuru and southern Lubero, with 3 Congolese officers killed in an FDLR ambush […]
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19-25 March 2015
The UN Security Council will be considering the renewal of MONSCO’s mandate this Thursday amid strong civil society appeals for a continuation of a robust mandate for the force and the Congolese government’s calls for the gradual withdrawal of the troops. As Kinshasa claims it is ready to take full responsibility for security in the country, relations between MONUSCO and the government remain tens
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12 – 18 March 2015
Tensions between MONUSCO and the Congolese government have been an area of focus over the last week as the expiry of the force’s mandate draws near. There is talk of a “confidence pact” between the UN and the government to address the issues of contention at the root of ailing relations. Ban Ki Moon has urged the Congolese State to cooperate with the UN Mission in the conduct of operations against
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5 – 11 March 2015
Reflection on the Addis Ababa Framework agreement continued this week in the wake of the second anniversary of the peace process, as Oxfam decried the lack of tangible progress in achieving the security of civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern provinces. The Congolese army have reported the capture of FDLR headquarters in Mwenga territory, South Kivu, on Saturday, with fighting b
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26 February – 4 March 2015
Following accusations of FDLR atrocities in Lubero and Walikale territories last week, last Tuesday, 24 February, saw the FARDC launch operations against the group by moving to known FDLR positions on the Lemera Plateau, Uvira territory. On Thursday, 26 February, the Congolese army’s offensive against the militia commenced in North Kivu, occasioning displacement in the Rutshuru and Nyiragongo terr
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19 – 25 February 2015
Download PDF News in Brief This week has seen the FDLR accused of atrocities in the Lubero and Walikale territories of the DRC’s North Kivu province. Military inaction since the group’s January 2015 deadline has led to political calls for the Congolese army and MONUSCO, to take more decisive action. In South Kivu the army are reported to have launched an offensive against the group in Uivra, whils
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12 – 18 FEBRUARY 2015
Last Thursday, 12 February, CENI election officials announced that the forthcoming presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo will be held on 27 November 2016. A day after MONUSCO’s formal notification of the withdrawal of its support for the Congolese offensive against the FDLR on Saturday […]