August 17, 2020 The Honorable Steven T. Mnuchin Secretary of the Treasury U.S. Department of Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20220 The Honorable Michael R. Pompeo Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20520 Dear Secretaries Mnuchin and Pompeo: Almost 18 months after Felix Tshisekedi assumed the […]

First published at thesentry.org In 2018, two North Korean businessmen formed a construction services firm in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and engaged in activities that appear to violate sanctions adopted by the European Union, the United Nations, and the United States. Despite strict international prohibitions, these individuals opened a bank account for their […]

First published at atavist.mg.co.za United States Special Operations forces (SOF) — including Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets and Marine Corps Raiders — are the US military’s most highly trained soldiers, specialising in counterterrorism, counter-insurgency, and “direct action” combat raids, among other missions. Their operations are shrouded in secrecy. Although US commandos operate on the African […]

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix Tshisekedi signed and promulgated a series of ordinances appointing and rotating the new generals within the Congolese army, the FARDC. Other presidential ordinances appoint a hundred colonels and generals to higher ranks to the point of making a senior military intelligence officer say that the FARDC is […]

First published at hrw.org Armed Criminals Abducted at Least 170 People, Many Women, Since 2017 Criminal gangs have kidnapped for ransom at least 170 people near the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo between April 2017 and March 2020. Small groups armed with guns and machetes have beaten, tortured, and murdered hostages, […]

Fisrt published at egmontinstitute.be Former colonial countries appear increasingly willing to engage in processes akin to transitional justice in order to confront the legacies of their colonial past. In this blog post, Valerie Arnould discusses recent initiatives in Belgium meant to address and repair its colonial harms in Central Africa. On the occasion of the […]

First published at egmontinstitute.be As the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrates its sixtieth birthday, the country stands at an important crossroads. Marked by the struggles and protests of a population suffering from violent conflicts, predatory rule and social exclusion, after six decades the current leadership, led by President Felix Tshisekedi, has a historic opportunity to […]

First published  at   www.chronicles.rw In a rare shift of policy, both the United States and the United Kingdom are fiercely opposed to referencing the genocide which took place in Rwanda in 1994 as “1994 genocide against the Tutsi”, according to documents only emerging now. The US and UK also accuse government of Rwanda of […]

Assaulting a sovereign state, pillaging it and massacring its inhabitants are very serious international crimes that led to the creation of the United Nations in 1945 after the murderous occupation of European countries by the forces of the Third German Reich, Adolf Hitler. Since, international instruments have been adopted to establish the principles of state […]

The elections in Congo The elections in Congo are a succession of dramatic events and organizational failures. Violating the hopes raised after failed elections in 2006, the 2011 elections were worse than those of 2006. Those of 2018 were worse than the two previous. In addition to chaotic organization and systemic fraud, the processes are […]

The elections in Congo The elections in Congo are a succession of dramatic events and organizational failures. Violating the hopes raised after failed elections in 2006, the 2011 elections were worse than those of 2006. Those of 2018 were worse than the two previous. In addition to chaotic organization and systemic fraud, the processes are […]

Since his coming to power in January 2019, restoring peace and security, particularly in the conflict-ridden Eastern provinces, has been one of President Félix Tshisekedi’s main promises. While not clearly or publicly expressed, President Tshisekedi and his key advisors have established a multi-faceted security strategy. A key condition to any successful security response though was […]

First published at www.hrw.org/ Greater Action Needed to Reduce Numbers, Allocate Food Funds, Improve Hygiene. (Kinshasa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s overcrowded and unsanitary prisons are at grave risk of Covid-19 outbreaks that threaten the health and lives of detainees, guards, and the broader population, Human Rights Watch said today. Since March 21, 2020, […]

First published at kivusecurity.org On the afternoon of February 20, the green Congolese army jeep was speeding along National Road 2, between Goma and Rutshuru-center. In the jeep were seven FARDC soldiers and some precious cargo: the wages of the 3416th regiment. Over 100,000 USD in cash. But as it approached the village of Rwaza, […]

Strong coronavirus measures today should only last a few weeks, there shouldn’t be a big peak of infections afterwards, and it can all be done for a reasonable cost to society, saving millions of lives along the way. If we don’t take these measures, tens of millions will be infected, many will die, along with anybody else that requires intensive care, because the healthcare system will have collapsed.

Fisrt published at blog.kivusecurity.org   It was January 10 of this year. After two and a half months of operations and massacres against civilians, the Congolese army (FARDC) announced that they had taken “Madina,” the headquarters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Uganda-based Islamist group which has been killing Beni’s population for over six […]

The true face of the RPF, Kagame’s “Army Without Borders”    This article, commented on by DESC and initially published on August 27, 2014, is a new update of the review of the book entitled Rwanda Vingt ans de pouvoir du FPR Quel Bilan ? by Gaspard Musabyimana and Emmanuel Neretse, published by Editions Scribe (Brussels) in March 2014. A book which describes the barbaric methods […]

How did Kabila try in vain to meet Donald Trump to offer himself a third presidential term? Access to this article is chargeable. Keywords : Joseph Kabila, Elliot Broidy, Dan Gertler, Jill & Joe Biden, Jaynet Kabila Kalev Mutond, Kikaya bin Karubi, Sonoran Policy Group, MER Security Communications Systems LTD Between 2014 and 2018, Joseph […]

This article is a translation of the original version in Portuguese published by our partner Maka Angola with the following link: https://www.makaangola.org/2020/01/o-congo-e-isabel-dos-santos/. Congo and Isabel dos Santos Let us, for a few minutes, leave the media frenzy around Isabel dos Santos, and look at other interesting events underway in Angola. Once again, President João Lourenço […]

Fisrt published at jww.org I mentioned in my last piece on the “mega-crisis” rocking the Congo that sources familiar with the situation on the ground in North Kivu’s Beni area believe that ethnic cleansing, i.e., forced deportation, of the Nande people is underway.  Since late 2014, nearly 1,000 civilians have been murdered, and hundreds of […]

First published at thehill.com News that the U.S. Department of Defense is contemplating a major drawdown in West Africa – potentially cutting support to France’s 4,500-strong combat mission in the Sahel as well – comes as the region is in crisis. Islamist groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State have spread violence across central Mali, northern Nigeria […]

After Mundos, does General Delphin Kahimbi become the new boss of the “presumed ADF / MTM” ?    By Jean-Jacques Wondo Omanyundu The Beni region has been facing a series of repetitive and extremely violent massacres since October 2014. These massacres are attributed to the Ugandan ADF rebellion (Allied Democratic Forces). However, after the launch of the military operation Sokola 1 in the northern part […]

The Rwandan army reoccupying  the Eastern Congo?  By Jean-Jacques Wondo Omanyundu One of the promises of the Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi, made to the Rwandan president, during his stay in Kigali at the end of March 2019, was to act together to put an end to the armed groups that are scouring eastern DRC[1], in particular via […]

What are the strategic motives behind sending General John Numbi to Beni? By Jean-Jacques Wondo Omanyundu The news announcing the appointment of the army general (4 stars), John Numbi Banze , went around the social networks in the blink of an eye on December 4, 2019. John Numbi is sent to the North Kivu front to […]