A Rwandan National Police officer watches M23 rebel troops arrive at the Rusizi border post joining the Congolese city of Bukavu with Cyangugu in Rwanda, on February 16, 2025 in Cyangugu, Rwanda.
| Photo Credit: Getty images

Rwanda-backed rebels appeared to be heading toward a third major city in eastern Congo, frightened residents said Tuesday, as international pressure rose over the M23’s expansion in the mineral-rich region that’s critical for global technology.

“We’re afraid that the enemy will advance to Butembo,” said Auguste Kombi, a civil society leader in Kitsombiro, a town on the road to the city of over 150,000 people.

He told The Associated Press that all main Congolese army positions along the road in the area were attacked Tuesday morning, and security was rapidly deteriorating.

It means the M23 are now moving both north and south of Goma, the city of over 2 million people it seized last month as about 3,000 people were killed. The rebels this week seized another provincial capital to Goma’s south, Bukavu, near Burundi.

The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away.

“We’re worried because we’re in danger of experiencing a situation similar to that in Goma, with the loss of human lives,” said Kambale Nyuliro, a Kitsombiro civil servant. He told the AP that Lubero town, on the way to Butembo, was surrounded on three sides by M23 fighters but still under Congolese army control.

“Since the fighting began, the enemy has only advanced,” he said.

Analysts have said the rebels are eyeing political power, unlike their brief capture of Goma, a major security and humanitarian hub, in 2012.

The rebel-appointed mayor of Goma said Tuesday they would carry out a census, in a sign of their intention to maintain control of the city. And ferry service resumed between Goma and Bukavu, the only way to travel between them for now.

Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. M23 says it’s fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed state to a modern one. Analysts have called those pretexts for Rwanda’s involvement.

On Tuesday, the U.K. Foreign Office summoned the Rwandan ambassador in London and in a statement condemned the rebel gains, calling them “an unacceptable violation of (Congo’s) sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“The government of Rwanda must immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force troops from Congolese territory,” the statement added.

There was no immediate comment from Rwanda.

Dozens of armed groups have long been active in eastern Congo, displacing more than 6 million people and creating the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

The M23’s latest movement north keeps the rebels not far from Uganda, which on Tuesday said it sent troops into yet another eastern Congo city further to the north, Bunia. Uganda said it was meant to combat violence by armed groups. It has periodically sent troops into Congo in agreement with the government in Kinshasa.

Also Tuesday, the U.N. human rights chief accused the Rwanda-backed rebels of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.

Volker Türk said in a statement that his office “confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week. We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons.”

He provided no details, but U.N. agencies have previously accused both the rebels and Congolese government forces of recruiting children.

The U.N. Human Rights Council this month launched a commission that will investigate atrocities, including rapes and killings akin to “summary executions,” committed by both sides this year.

What is happening in Congo?

| Video Credit:
The Hindu

On January 27, 2025, the rebel group M23 announced they had captured much of the provincial capital of Goma.

Almost immediately, panic set in. Hundreds of thousands of residents scrambled to escape—some fled deeper into Congo, while others crossed into Rwanda.

By January 28, the situation worsened when M23 had taken control of Goma’s airport. Unable to hold their ground, the Congolese army and their allies laid down their weapons. And just two days later, by January 30, Goma was fully in the hands of the rebels.

What is happening in Congo? Why is it happening? Who are the M23 rebels? And what does this mean for the region?

Presentation: Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Script: Shikha Kumari

Editing: Aniket Singh Chauhan

Videography: Thamodharan B.

LONDON (AP) — British health officials say they have identified four cases of the new, more infectious version of mpox that first emerged in Congo. Representational image
| Photo Credit: Justin Makangara

British health officials say they have identified four cases of the new, more infectious version of mpox that first emerged in Congo, marking the first time the variant has caused a cluster of illness outside of Africa. Scientists said the risk to the public remains low.

Authorities announced the first case of the new form of mpox in the U.K. last week, saying the case was being treated at a London hospital after recently traveling to countries in Africa with ongoing outbreaks.

This week, the U.K. Health Security Agency said it had now identified three further cases who lived in the same household as the first patient. They too are now being treated at a hospital in London.

“Mpox is very infectious in households with close contact and so it is not unexpected to see further cases within the same household,” said Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor of the U.K. Health Security Agency.

The new variant of mpox was first detected earlier this year in eastern Congo. Scientists believe it causes milder symptoms that are harder to notice, which makes it easier to spread because people may not know they are infected. Its spread in Congo and elsewhere in Africa prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global emergency in August.

Britain recorded more than 3,000 cases of another type of mpox during a 2022 outbreak that hit more than 100 countries.

The new variant of mpox has also caused outbreaks in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Single cases in travelers have also been reported in Sweden, India, Germany and Thailand.

To date, there have been about 43,000 suspect cases of mpox in Africa, including more than 1,000 deaths, mostly in Congo.

On Wednesday, WHO said it had allocated 899,900 vaccine doses to nine African countries struggling with mpox epidemics.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Kinshasa:

Democratic Republic of Congo received its first batch of mpox vaccines on Thursday, which health authorities hope will help curb an outbreak that has prompted the U.N. to declare a global public health emergency.

Congo is the epicentre of the outbreak, which has spread to neighbouring countries and elsewhere, but a lack of vaccines in Africa has hampered efforts to stop the spread of the sometimes deadly disease.

A plane carrying doses manufactured by Bavarian Nordic and donated by the European Union touched down in the capital Kinshasa around 13:00 local time (12:00 GMT), Reuters reporters at the airport said.

Congo’s health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba, told reporters the newly arrived vaccine had already proved its worth in the United States and would be rolled out to adults in Congo.

“We know which provinces are heavily affected, notably Equateur and South Kivu… The idea is to contain the virus as quickly as possible,” he added.

This first delivery amounts to 99,000 doses and a further delivery on Saturday will take the total to 200,000 doses, said Laurent Muschel, the head of the EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).

Overall, Europe aims to deliver 566,000 doses to wherever needs are greatest in the region, Muschel told Reuters. “Based on the number of cases, the next country (for deliveries) should be Burundi, but the country’s medical agency must authorise it.”

The arrival of the vaccine in Congo should start to address a huge inequity that has left African countries with no access to the two shots used in a 2022 global mpox outbreak, while they were widely available in Europe and the United States.

Congo has said it will launch its vaccination campaign on Oct. 8 to allow time for a thorough awareness-raising campaign to overcome mistrust in some communities.

Mpox typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and can kill. There were 19,710 suspected cases of mpox reported in Congo in the first eight months of this year, according to the health ministry. Of those, 5,041 were confirmed and 655 were fatal.

It spreads through close contact, including sexual contact.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

More than four years since Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO (World Health Organization) in March 2020, fear of another mass outbreak looms large. The WHO, on August 14, declared the current upsurge of Mpox or Monkeypox in Central Africa as a global emergency requiring urgent action. The global concern for the virus grew as it spread to other African countries, and, within no time, the deadly strain of Mpox – Clade 1b – crossed the African continent to reach Sweden, Pakistan, and other countries.

The virus has killed more than 500 people so far, mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the disease has been spreading since last year. The country saw more than 96% of the world’s roughly 17,000 recorded cases of Mpox this year.

Though India has not reported any cases yet, the Central government is keeping a close eye on the situation. Our healthcare infrastructure faced severe challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in thousands of deaths. One wouldn’t wish to be caught unawares this time.

Is Mpox As Dangerous As Covid-19 Or Swine Flu?

Mpox is a zoonotic infection that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. Fatal in some cases, the WHO first declared it a global emergency in 2022. 

Mpox virus can be categorised into two clades: Clade 1 and Clade 2. The first, which is found mainly in Central African countries, is more severe and has a high mortality rate. Clade 2 has milder symptoms and is found in western Africa. The latter caused a public health emergency in 2022, wherein some 300 cases — though mild — were reported from Sweden. This time, it’s the newer and more serious Clade 1b, identified in September last year, that has been driving the current outbreak.

Though experts worry that Mpox may be as dangerous as Covid-19 or the swine flu, there is a difference in the nature of transmission. Both Covid-19 and swine flu were highly infectious because they were airborne. In contrast, Mpox is transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact, talking or breathing close to an infected person, or using their soiled clothes or bedsheets. “Mpox is unlikely to become a pandemic like Covid-19 primarily due to its mode of spread. It requires very close and physical contact, unlike the airborne SARS-CoV-2. Also, symptoms like blisters on the skin are more visible indicators and therefore, it’s easier to identify the disease and isolate a person to contain the spread,” says Rakesh K. Mishra, former director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.

India’s first Mpox case was recorded in Kerala in 2022, from a traveller from the UAE. Soon, the virus spread within the country, with cases emerging in Delhi even from individuals who had no recent international travel. India reported 27 confirmed cases and one death that year, according to WHO. The last case in the country was in March this year, in Kerala, and since then, no new cases have been recorded.

How To Stay Safe

In response to the WHO’s warning, both Central and state governments have sprung into action. There are monkeypox advisories in place and public health measures are being taken. Both the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) are closely monitoring the situation and reviewing international trends.

In Tamil Nadu, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH) has already issued alerts. Reports say that passengers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African countries are being tracked by airport health officers and port health personnel. Both Hyderabad and New Delhi — cities popular among African students pursuing higher education — have also been placed on high alert.

The Need For Vaccines

The first Mpox strain was isolated by ICMR researchers in 2022. Pharmaceutical companies and drug manufacturers are being called upon to develop vaccines and testing kits for the virus. Existing vaccines for smallpox and chickenpox might also offer protection in India. 

About other prevention strategies, Mishra says, “It is important to closely monitor the spread of the disease in different countries and be ready for screening by already available methods of DNA-based diagnostics. There is an effective vaccine already available but supply of that may not be easy to ensure.”  

“Simple practices like avoiding close physical contact with suspected/potentially infected person, maintaining distance from people with symptoms, and wearing a mask, should be effective in containing the spread of the infection,” Mishra adds. 

Developed nations, mostly those in Europe, already have vaccines available for those at greater risk of monkeypox. And given the high quality of healthcare there, containing the disease will be less challenging. It’s underdeveloped African countries, which have neither vaccines nor the resources to buy them, that remain at most risk and which need the most help. 

(Bharti Mishra Nath is Contributing Editor, NDTV)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Kinshasa, DR Congo:

The DR Congo military on Sunday said it had thwarted an “attempted coup” near the offices of President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa involving “foreigners and Congolese”.

It happened in the early hours of the morning outside the residence of Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe, in the Gombe area in the north of the capital, near the Palais de la Nation that houses the president’s offices, a spokesman said.

“An attempted coup d’etat has been stopped by the defence and security forces,” said General Sylvain Ekenge in a message broadcast on national television. 

Shots were also heard near the Palais de la Nation at the time of the coup attempt, according to a number of sources.

Later on Sunday, army spokesperson General Sylvain Ekenge said several Americans and a British man were part of the group involved in the operation.

The coup bid was led by Christian Malanga, a Congolese man who was a “naturalised American” and had been “definitively neutralised” — killed — by the security forces, Ekenge said in a broadcast on Sunday evening.

The group was made up of “several nationalities”, Ekenge said, adding that around 40 of the attackers had been arrested, and four — including Malanga — killed.

“We also have a naturalised British subject, the number two of the group,” the spokesman added. Malanga’s son, Marcel Malanga, was also among the attackers, he said.

Kamerhe and his family were not harmed in the attack but two police officers looking after them were killed, said a source close to the minister.

The group had planned to attack the home of the new Prime Minister Judith Suminwa, and the residence of Defence Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba.

But they “could not identify the home” of Suminwa and had not been able to find Bemba at his residence.

After the attack at Kamerhe’s home, the group then went to the Palais de la Nation, brandishing flags of Zaire, the name of the Democratic Republic of Congo under the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who was overthrown in 1997.

“I am shocked by the events this morning and very worried by the reports of American citizens allegedly being involved,” Lucy Tamlyn, the US ambassador to the DRC, posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“Rest assured that we are cooperating with authorities in DRC to the fullest extent possible, as they investigate these criminal acts and hold accountable any American citizen involved.”

France’s ambassador had reported automatic weapon fire in the area, urging nationals to avoid it.

During the day, certain streets near the Palais de la Nation remained closed to traffic, but the situation appeared calm, AFP journalists reported. 

“I’m a little afraid to move around like that in Gombe, there aren’t many people… But I have to sell my goods,” bread-seller Jean-Mbuta said. 

Videos on social media showed men in fatigues at the Palais de la Nation, brandishing flags of Zaire.

The Zaire flag was mostly green while the DRC one is largely blue.

“The time has arrived, long live Zaire, long live the children of Mobutu,” a man who appeared to be the head of the group said in Lingala, a language spoken in parts of the DRC.

“Felix has fallen… we are victorious,” he added.

AFP was also unable to verify the videos.

Tshisekedi was re-elected at the end of December when he received more than 70 percent of votes in the first round.

The parties backing him won around 90 percent of seats in the parliamentary elections held the same day.

But he is yet to form a government some five months after the elections.

Kamerhe on April 23 was named as a candidate for president of the National Assembly, the DRC’s main legislative body.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi. File
| Photo Credit: VIA REUTERS

Congo’s army says it has “foiled a coup” on May 19 morning and arrested the perpetrators, including several foreigners, following a shootout between armed men in military uniform and guards of a close ally of Congo’s president that left three people dead in the capital, Kinshasa.

At first, local media identified the armed men as Congolese soldiers but then reported they were linked to self-exiled opposition leader Christian Malanga who later posted a video on Facebook threatening President Felix Tshisekedi.

Mr. Tshisekedi was reelected as president in December in a chaotic vote amid calls for a revote from the opposition over what they said was a lack of transparency. The Central African country has witnessed similar trends of disputed elections in the past.

Congolese army spokesperson Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge said on state television on May 19 that the attempted coup d’état was “nipped in the bud by Congolese defence and security forces (and) the situation is under control.” He did not give further details.

This also came amid a crisis gripping Mr. Tshisekedi’s ruling party over an election for the parliament’s leadership which was supposed to be held on May 18 but got postponed.

Clashes were reported on May 19 between men in military uniform and guards of Vital Kamerhe, a federal legislator and a candidate for speaker of the National Assembly of Congo, at his residence in Kinshasa, about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the presidential palace and where some embassies are also located.

Mr. Kamerhe’s guards stopped the armed men, Michel Moto Muhima, the politician’s spokesperson said on the X social media platform, adding that two police officers and one of the attackers were killed in the shootout that started around 4:30 am.

Footage, seemingly from the area, showed military trucks and heavily armed men parading deserted streets in the neighbourhood as the army said the situation has been brought under control.

Meanwhile, the self-exiled Malanga appeared in the live-streamed video surrounded by several people in military uniform and said: “Felix you’re out, we are coming for you.” On his website, the opposition leader’s group — the United Congolese Party (UCP) — is described as “a grassroots platform that unifies the Congolese Diaspora around the world opposing the current Congolese dictatorship.” Mr. Tshisekedi hasn’t so far addressed the public about May 19’s events.

On May 17, he met with parliamentarians and leaders of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition in an attempt to resolve the crisis seizing his party, which dominates the national assembly. He said he would not “hesitate to dissolve the National Assembly and send everyone to new elections if these bad practices persist.” The United States Embassy in Congo issued a security alert Sunday, urging caution after “reports of gunfire.”

Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
| Photo Credit: X/@SuminwaJudith

President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo on April 1 appointed the country’s first female Prime Minister, fulfilling a campaign promise and making an important step towards the formation of a new government after being reelected late last year.

Former Planning Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka will step into the role at a time of worsening violence in the country’s mineral-rich east, which borders Rwanda. The long-running conflict has displaced more than 7 million people according to the United Nations, making it one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Ms. Tuluka promised to work towards peace and development in her first speech following her appointment on state television. Still, it could be months before a new government is formed as the process requires intensive negotiations with the many political parties.

“My thoughts go out to the east and to all corners of the country, which today are facing conflicts with enemies who are sometimes hidden,” she said, referring to the conflict that involves many armed groups including some believed to be backed by Rwanda’s military. “I’m thinking of all these people, and my heart goes out to them.”

Far from the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, eastern Congo has long been overrun by more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings.

Both regional and U.N. peacekeepers have been asked to leave Congo after the government accused them of failing to resolve the conflict. Violence has only continued to worsen as the withdrawal of personnel has begun, and as Congolese authorities have moved into their positions.

Bintou Keita, the top U.N. envoy to Congo, told the U.N. Security Council last week that the prominent rebel group known as M23 had made significant territorial gains in the east, which was contributing to the spike in violence and surging numbers of displaced people.

Reelected to a second five-year term in December, Mr. Tshisekedi has blamed neighbouring Rwanda for providing military support to the rebels. Rwanda denies the claim but U.N. experts have said there is substantial evidence of their forces in Congo.

The United States last month urged Congo and Rwanda to walk back from the brink of war.

The U.S. State Department also said Rwanda should withdraw troops and surface-to-air missile systems from eastern Congo and criticized M23, calling it a “Rwanda-backed” armed group.

The Rwandan Foreign Ministry said last month that the country’s troops are defending Rwandan territory as Congo carries out a “dramatic military build-up” near the border.