Rwanda-backed rebels move deeper into eastern Congo as UN reports executions and rapes

UN decries sexual violence as weapon of war in DRC

GENEVA — As fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese armed troops escalate in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights warns that the warring parties increasingly are using rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. “Conflict-related sexual violence has been an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for U.N. human rights chief Vo…

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in particular the Kivu region, has its origins in the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 and then in the events related to Burundi, which saw hundreds of thousands of Hutus flee these two countries for eastern DRC. Since 2021, the province of North Kivu, a region worked by separatist forces in the east of the DRC, has been a theater of clashes between government forces and armed rebel…

Rebels move deeper into eastern DR Congo as UN says hundreds killed

Rwanda-backed rebels are quickly expanding their presence in eastern DR Congo after capturing Goma, the region's major city, the U.N. said on Friday.

Why Is Violence Flaring Up in Mineral-Rich Congo? - Overpasses For America

Rebels backed by Rwanda are seizing huge tracts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels, known as M23, say they are protecting ethnic Tutsis, the minority group massacred in a 1994 genocide. But experts say the real reason is Congo’s rare minerals, which power our phones and devices. Ruth Maclean, New York Times West Africa bureau chief, explains how the rebels and their patrons in Rwanda are profiting from the conflict. Source link

5 things to know about the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo

On Monday, M23 rebels backed by Rwandan troops entered the city of Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. They have now taken control of the city, and on Thursday, in their first press conference, declared that they were “here to stay.” They raised the prospect of further expansion of territory under their control. DRC’s government has called the takeover a “declaration of war” by neighboring Rwanda.Goma, a regional hub of over 2 million…

Rwandan-Backed Rebels Strengthen Hold in Eastern Congo

Rebel forces continue to claim more Congolese territory coveted for its rich mineral resources. In Myanmar, former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed and the country is mired in a brutal civil war. Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source The post Rwandan-Backed Rebels Strengthen Hold in Eastern Congo appeared first on RocketNews.