Briefings
Weekly Briefing: 14TH – 20TH August 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_14-08-14 NEWS IN BRIEF In Mushaki, North Kivu, seven alleged M23 combatants have reportedly been handed over to the FARDC by the Raïa Mutomboki after trying to convince the local militia to join their cause. In South Kivu, a family of six has died in ethnic violence in Mutarule. While the identity of the attackers is still unknown an official inquiry into the case has been c
Weekly Briefing: 7TH – 13TH August 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_07-08-14 NEWS IN BRIEF In North Kivu further fighting between the FARDC and the Mai-Mai Cheka in the Kabombo region has caused many to flee. In South Kivu the army’s push against the Mai-Mai Mutomboki is said to have left several fighters dead. Meanwhile, it was reported that this militia group has attacked and looted a mine in Nsele. In Province Orientale fighters of the FR
Weekly Briefing: 31ST July – 6TH August 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_31-07-14 NEWS IN BRIEF In the DRC, 280 hostages held by the ADF in North Kivu were rescued in a joint mission between FARDC and MONUSCO. After attacks on Lake Tanganyika, South Kivu, Burundi has complained about a lack of collaboration between the two countries in the fight against Congolese militias. In Province Oriental, FRPI militiamen are accused of several atrocities ag
Weekly Briefing: 24TH – 30TH July
Download IPIS_briefing_24-07-14 NEWS IN BRIEF In North Kivu, FARDC and MONUSCO launched an initiative to urge the Ugandan Militia ADF to voluntarily disarm. By dropping leaflets in the Beni region it is hoped to convince militiamen to drop their arms and release the around 250 people currently held hostage by the group. In South Kivu, fighting is reported to have broken out between the FARDC and t
Weekly Briefing: 17TH – 23TH July 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_17-07-14 NEWS IN BRIEF In the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province several people have reportedly died in clashes between artisanal miners and the police at the Rubaya mining site in Masisi. The violence broke out after the head of the association of artisanal miners allegedly died in police custody. Violent clashes between miners and police have been reported
Weekly Briefing: 10TH – 16TH July 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_10-07-14 NEWS IN BRIEF Aimed at restoring state authority in the area, FARDC, supported by MONUSCO, made gains in North-Kivu against Mai-Mai Cheka-Nduma Defense of Congo (NDC) early last week, whilst in South Kivu two people were killed and several others seriously injured in a clash between the Mai-Mai militias Raia Mutomboki and Kirikicho during the night of Monday to Tues
Weekly Briefing: 2ND – 8TH July 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_02-07-14 NEWS IN BRIEF Ugandan troops stationed in the CAR to fight the LRA clashed with Seleka Rebels in the Central African Republic this week. While Seleka officials have stated that the task force was attacked by mistake the Ugandan forces have announced that it was now fighting the Seleka as part of its mission, accusing the rebel group of cooperating with the LRA. Last
Weekly Briefing: 25TH June – 1ST July 2014
Download IPIS Briefing 25-06-2014 NEWS IN BRIEF In reprisal attacks between Christian and Muslim communities in the town of Bambari over 70 people have died in recent days. The renewed violence has caused thousands of civilians to flee the area. At the African Union meeting officials of the Economic Community of Central African States debated possible responses to bring an end to the ongoing viole
Weekly Briefing: 18TH – 24TH June 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_18-06-14 NEWS IN BRIEF Border clashes between Rwanda and the DRC in mid-June have seen reports of five FARDC deaths with indications that these fatalities may have been the result of execution not combat – a claim Kigali denies. Tensions between the states continued to manifest this week as Rwandan forces arrested nine Congolese fishermen. Meanwhile, South Kivu saw clashes i
Weekly Briefing: 4TH – 10TH June 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_04-06-14 NEWS IN BRIEF In DR Congo, ethnic tensions came to a head this week when a cattle dispute resulted in a violent night-time raid in Mutarule, South Kivu, leaving 38 dead, among them women and children. The massacre was met with both national and international consternation and representatives of the region, which many have fled, called for justice. The international
Weekly Briefing: 28TH May – 3RD June 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_28-05-14 NEWS IN BRIEF Bangui descended further into violence over the last week with a church attack reportedly perpetrated by Muslim fighters once again prompting retaliation attacks targeting a Bangui mosque and the city’s remaining Muslim population. Protests in the city saw two people shot dead by MISCA forces this week as popular disaffection was directed at both the t
Weekly Briefing: 14TH – 20TH May 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_14-05-14 NEWS IN BRIEF Renewed hostilities between anti-balaka and Seleka factions displaced 23,000 people, mainly Christian, between Kaga Bandoro and Dekao in the interior of the CAR this week, with further violence reported in villages close to Btangfo in the country’s northwest. The Seleka is said to have reorganised its chain of command in order to secure greater control
Weekly Briefing: 7TH – 13TH May 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_07-05-14 NEWS IN BRIEF The UN Security Council expressed concern this week about the escalation of violence in parts of the Central Africa region, including the Central African Republic (CAR), calling on stakeholders to enhance cooperation in seeking to restore peace. The statement follows the release of a UN report outlining that Joseph Kony is said to be sheltering in a di
Weekly Briefing: 30TH April – 6TH May 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_30-04-14 NEWS IN BRIEF Humanitarian agencies have continued to call for greater protection for civilians in the Central African Republic following last week’s grenade attack on a convoy of Muslims leaving the country. This week has seen further killing in the capital, Bangui, with a journalist and a UNHCR worker killed before the weekend and further deaths on Saturday night.
Weekly Briefing: 22ND – 28TH April 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_22-04-14 NEWS IN BRIEF The Ugandan People’s Defence Force, tracking Joseph Kony in the Central African Republic (CAR) reported the capture of Lord’s Resistance Army leader Charles Okello this week. In the CAR around 1,300 Muslims were escorted from Bangui by peacekeepers over the weekend. The event was marked by clashes between French Sangaris forces and armed actors, occasi
Weekly Briefing: 10TH – 16TH April 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_10-04-14 NEWS IN BRIEF As the first EUFOR troops trickled into the CAR, the UN Security Council passed a resolution last Thursday, sanctioning the deployment of a 10,000 strong peace keeping force with a 1,800 officer police unit. Whilst welcomed, the 15 September deployment date has been met with concerns that the force may arrive too late to stem the spiralling inter-commu
Weekly Briefing: 3RD – 9TH April 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_03-04-14 NEWS IN BRIEF With the UN vote on whether to deploy an international peacekeeping force to the CAR today, the commencement of commemorations on the twentieth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide has seen numerous references to the international community repeating the mistakes of 1994 in respect of the intercommunal violence in the country. Ban Ki Moon’s flying visi
Weekly Briefing: 27TH March – 2ND April 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_27-03-14 NEWS IN BRIEF The preceding week’s violence in Bangui, Central African Republic, escalated further into this week with attacks on MISCA and Sangaris forces prompting retaliation. A grenade attack on a funeral procession in Bangui saw at least eleven deaths, shortly followed by numerous fatalities when Chadian troops reportedly escorting a convoy of Muslims on the no
Weekly Briefing: 20TH – 26TH March 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_20-03-14 NEWS IN BRIEF A year after the Seleka rebel coalition ousted president Bozizé, intercommunal violence and killings rage on despite the cessation of large-scale conflict in the Central African Republic. The weekend saw fierce fighting reignite in Bangui, where 20 people are reported killed and dozens wounded amid heavy fire from automatic weapons and grenade attacks.
Weekly Briefing: 13TH – 19TH March 2014
Download IPIS_briefing_13-03-14 NEWS IN BRIEF In the DRC, recent UN supported offensives in Rutshuru have seen FARDC regain territories formerly under FDLR-FOCA control on the border with Virunga National Park. FARDC operations against the APCLS in Masisi have seen gains in Mont Sinai and Lukweti. The rebel group is now said to be seeking to form a coalition with other armed groups in Walikale, wh