Demonstrators protest against military attacks on the Banyamulenge people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at the Capitol in Washington. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo:

Rwanda-backed rebels on Monday claimed they captured Goma, the largest city in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the United Nations reported “mass panic” among its 2 million residents. The city’s capture came after a 48-hour deadline imposed by M23 rebels for the Congolese army to surrender their weapons expired. 

The rebel alliance, spearheaded by the ethnic Tutsi-led M23 militia, announced the coup d’etat in a statement, urging residents of Goma to remain calm. Meanwhile, the government in Congo said the rebel advance was a “declaration of war,” according to a report by the Associated Press. 

What is Happening In Congo

M23 fighters and 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers had been laying siege to Goma for several days, advancing in the heart of the mineral-rich region and threatening to dramatically worsen one of Africa’s longest wars and further displace civilians.

The Congolese armed forces appear to have been overwhelmed by the offensive, and Uruguay’s army said in a statement that some units had begun to surrender by handing over their weapons to UN peacekeepers in Goma.

According to a report by AFP, large explosions and gunfire were heard in central Goma on Monday morning. As chaos descended on the city, there was also a mass prison break from a torched prison which resulted reportedly in “deaths”.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance that includes the M23, told Reuters on Monday that his forces were in control of Goma and that army soldiers were laying down arms.

Meanwhile, the Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya posted a video on X, calling for the protection of civilians and saying that the country is “in a war situation where the news is changing.”

On Sunday, The UN Security Council held crisis talks with the United States, France and Britain condemning what they said was Rwanda’s backing of the rebel advance. 

But, Rwanda dismissed statements that “did not provide any solutions” and accused the Congolese government of sabotaging negotiations with the M23 and supporting Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide.

Kinshasa rejects these allegations. Congo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner called on the Security Council to impose a “total embargo on the export of all minerals labelled as Rwandan, in particular gold”.

Meanwhile, the UN staff and their families were evacuated to Rwanda on Monday, where 10 buses were waiting to pick them up. The border between Rwanda and DRC near the Goma remained closed on Monday, as the United States, France, the UK and Germany called on their citizens to leave the city.

DRC Conflict

The eastern borderlands of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are a tinderbox of rebel and militia fiefdoms stemming from two regional wars after Rwanda’s 1994 genocide when Hutu extremists murdered close to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The M23 (or March 23 Movement), the latest in a long line of Tutsi-led rebel movements backed by Rwanda, captured Goma in 2012 but withdrew days later after an agreement brokered by neighbouring nations.

Congo has more than 100 armed groups, mainly in the east of the central African nation of 100 million people which is roughly the size of Western Europe and has plentiful mineral supplies in the sights of Chinese and Western companies.

According to a United Nations report, over a third of the population of North Kivu province, where Goma is located, is currently displaced. 

About M23 Rebels 

The 2012 fall of Goma led to the deployment of a new offensive-minded U.N. force, an overhaul of the Congolese army, and diplomatic pressure on Rwanda, leading to the M23’s defeat the next year and a deal calling for its demobilisation.

But the group never fully disarmed and launched a fresh offensive in 2022 that has seen it capture vast swathes of mineral-rich North Kivu province, including lucrative mines that produce coltan, which is used in smartphones.

Well-trained and professionally armed, M23 says it exists to protect Congo’s Tutsi population from the Congolese government and ethnic Hutu militias. U.N. experts say Rwanda has deployed 3,000-4,000 troops and provided significant firepower, including missiles and snipers, to support the M23.

The rebels’ advance since the start of the year has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes, on top of 3 million displaced in east Congo in 2024, according to the UN.
 

An unknown disease with flu-like symptoms has killed at least 79 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the BBC. The unidentified disease has infected 300 people in DR Congo since November 10, causing flu-like symptoms including fever, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties and anaemia, the country’s health ministry said. Most of the dead have been between the ages of 15 and 18, it added. In a statement on X, the ministry said the disease was of “still unknown origin” and had been detected in Kwango province in southwestern Congo.

Response teams have been sent to Kwango Province to manage cases and investigate the nature of the disease, the outlet reported. The government has urged citizens to stay calm and vigilant. They urged people to wash their hands with soap, avoid mass gatherings, and avoid touching the bodies of the deceased without qualified health personnel.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa region official told BBC that they have “dispatched a team to the remote area to collect samples for lab investigations”. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has an office in Congo, said it is aware of the situation and is providing technical assistance to a rapid response team dispatched by a local emergency operations centre, as per NBC News. 

Symphorien Manzanza, a civil society leader, said that the situation is worrying as the number of infected people continues to rise. “Panzi is a rural health zone, so there is a problem with the supply of medicines,” he said.

Also Read | Namibia Gets Its First Female Leader: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Separately, a local MP said that about 67 people had fallen sick and died between November 10 and 26. “It should be noted that Panzi Hospital is short of medicines to cope with this epidemic. We really need assistance,” the MP said. 

Notably, the latest outbreak comes amid a time when the central African country is also dealing with a severe outbreak of mpox. It also comes just before the fifth anniversary of the first recorded case of Covid-19 in Wuhan, China.

DR Congo has also dealt with bouts of Ebola over the years.

The World Health Organization signage is seen outside its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, April 15, 2020.
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan has detected three patients with the mpox virus, the health department in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Friday (August 16, 2024).

The viral infection was detected in the patients on their arrival from the United Arab Emirates, the department said. The World Health Organization has declared a recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern after a new variant of the virus has been identified.

Global mpox infections: Symptoms, treatment, and status of outbreak | Explained 

Pakistan has had cases of mpox, also called monkeypox, previously. It was not immediately clear which variant was detected in the patients.

Two of the patients had been confirmed to have mpox, said Salim Khan, the director general of health services for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A third patient’s samples had been sent to the National Health Institute in the capital, Islamabad, for confirmation, he said, adding all three patients were being quarantined.

WHO declares mpox outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency

A spokesperson for Pakistan’s national Health Ministry said Pakistan has detected one suspected case of mpox.

Global health officials on Thursday (August 15, 2024) confirmed infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent a day after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global public health emergency.

The WHO on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) declared the outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert, after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries.

There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023.

The disease, caused by the monkeypox virus, can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever and can make some people very ill, the WHO website says.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame attend his swearing-in ceremony after a landslide win in last month’s election at the Amahoro Stadium, Gasabo District of Kigali, Rwanda, August 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Rwanda’s all-powerful President Paul Kagame was sworn in Sunday for a fourth term, saying regional peace was a “priority” in the face of ongoing conflict in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Mr. Kagame swept to victory in elections last month with a staggering 99.18% of the vote, giving him another five years in office.

Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where many were dressed in the green, yellow and blue colours of the Rwandan national flag.

The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for the iron-fisted Mr. Paul Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since the 1994 genocide, as de facto leader and then president.

Rights activists said the 66-year-old’s overwhelming victory was a stark reminder of the oppressive regime in Rwanda, with only two candidates authorised to run against him and several prominent critics barred.

Kigali is also accused of stoking instability in the mineral-rich east of the DRC, its much larger neighbour, by backing M23 rebels fighting Kinshasa’s armed forces.

“Peace in our region is a priority for Rwanda yet it has been lacking, particularly in eastern DRC,” Mr. Kagame said in his inauguration address.

“But peace cannot be delivered by anyone or from anywhere no matter how powerful if the party most concerned does not do what is needed,” he said in an apparent barb targeting Kinshasa.

“Angola’s President Joao Lourenco, among those who attended Sunday’s ceremony, was due to have private talks with Mr. Kagame on a DRC ceasefire deal hammered out last month,” the Angolan presidency said.

Luanda (Angola’s capital) brokered the agreement after a meeting between the foreign ministers of DRC and Rwanda.

But on August 4, the day the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, M23 rebels – who have seized territory in the east since launching a new offensive at the end of 2021 – captured a town on the border with Uganda.

A recent U.N. experts report said 3,000-4,000 Rwandan soldiers are fighting alongside M23 and that Kigali had “de facto control” of the group’s operations.

Questioned repeatedly on the issue, Mr. Kagame has not explicitly denied the presence of Rwandan forces in DRC, instead pointing to the “persecution” of the Tutsi minority and the risk of instability on Rwanda’s border.

– ‘Climate of fear’ –

Mr. Kagame is credited with rebuilding a ruined nation after the genocide, when Hutu extremists unleashed 100 days of vicious bloodletting targeting the Tutsi minority, killing around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.

But rights activists and opponents say he rules in a climate of fear, crushing any dissent with intimidation, arbitrary detentions, killings and enforced disappearances. With 65% of the population under 30, Mr. Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.

“I proudly cast my vote for President Kagame and made it a priority to be here today to witness this historic inauguration,” said Tania Iriza, a 27-year-old trader, one of the tens of thousands who turned out for the ceremony. “His leadership has been transformative for our nation. Under his leadership, Rwanda has risen from our tragic past and forged a path towards prosperity, unity and innovation.”

Mr. Kagame has won every presidential election he has contested, each time with more than 93% of the ballot.

In 2015, he oversaw controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms to five years from seven but reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034.

Members of the Congolese Army sentenced to death for desertion and cowardice when fighting M23 rebels sit inside the military courtroom during their trial in Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo May 3, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Innocent Kasereka sits in a rundown hospital in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his neck bandaged where he was brutally slashed with a knife.

He recounted how he became caught in the middle of the conflict raging between rebels of the March 23 Movement (M23) and Congolese armed forces (FARDC) since late 2021. The attack took place at a coffee plantation in the agricultural town of Kibirizi at the start of May.

It had been seized two months earlier by the M23 and the Rwandan Army, which has been fighting alongside the rebel group. “When the M23 arrived in Kibirizi they held a meeting and assured us that we were safe,” Kasereka said. Instead, he said he was attacked by people “in M23 uniform”. The Congolese Army backed by a rag-tag collection of armed groups known as Wazalendo — Swahili for Patriots — launched an offensive to retake Kibirizi from the M23 at the end of April.

But the Army failed to retake Kibirizi, leaving its inhabitants at the mercy of the M23 who began to “attack the population” when the Congolese Army left, Kasereka said.

Augustin Darwin, spokesperson for Front of Patriots for Peace/People’s Army, one of the largest armed groups in the area that is part of the Wazalendo, said he had no confidence in the FARDC. He accused the Congolese Army of “withdrawal after withdrawal” and “fleeing before the enemy”.

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.