As Congo army retreats from Bukavu, children pick up guns and get killed

Reuters Rwanda-backed M23 insurgents shot dead three boys who had picked up guns left by Congolese soldiers fleeing the rebel advance in eastern Congo, the UN said on Tuesday, adding the incident to a list of grave human rights violations reported during the conflict. Videos circulating on social media showed children apparently aged between 11 […]
Burundi troops withdraw in eastern Congo as M23 rebels expand reach

Reuters Burundi is withdrawing its forces from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they had been fighting against M23 rebels, four sources said on Tuesday, in a further blow to Congo’s army as it struggles to halt a rebel advance. The pull-out came as the UN human rights office accused M23 rebels of executing children […]
Congo rebels promise security in Bukavu after looting

Reuters Residents of eastern Congo’s second-largest city on Monday surveyed the aftermath of widespread looting that accompanied the arrival of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who have pledged to restore order. The M23 fighters moved into the centre of Bukavu on Sunday, marking the Tutsi-led group’s most significant advance since seizing east Congo’s biggest city of Goma […]
M23 rebels advance into eastern Congo’s strategic city of Bukavu

Reuters Rwandan-backed M23 rebels advanced on Sunday into the centre of Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, meeting little resistance from government troops, witnesses and the armed group said, as Congo accused Rwanda of ignoring calls for a ceasefire. The rebels have been seeking to seize the commercial hub since taking the city of […]
Congo PM demands “withdrawal of Rwandan troops” after M23 reach Bukavu suburbs

Reuters Chaotic scenes unfolded in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu on Saturday after M23 rebels reached its outskirts, while Congo’s Prime Minister declined to comment on a threat by Uganda’s army chief that raised fears of a spiral into a wider regional war. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have been pushing south towards Bukavu, the […]
Congo troops pull back as M23 rebels take airport near Bukavu

Reuters Rwandan-backed M23 rebels appeared on Friday to be closing in on eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s second-largest city, Bukavu, as they seized control of the nearby airport of Kavumu, prompting Congolese troops to withdraw in some areas. The rebels have been trying to push south towards Bukavu since they seized Goma, the largest city […]
Humanitarian catastrophe looms in east Congo as rebels push south, official says

Reuters The advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels into Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province threatens to trigger a humanitarian catastrophe in an area already housing thousands of displaced people, the provincial governor said. The Tutsi-led rebels have been inching south since they seized eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma at the end of last […]
Congo Catholic delegation meets rebel leader as forces advance

Reuters Representatives of Congo’s powerful Catholic church met on Wednesday with a rebel leader whose Rwandan-backed M23 forces last month seized Goma, the biggest city in the country’s east, and have continued advancing south. The meeting in Goma comes as the rebel leader, Corneille Nangaa, tries to assert himself as the public face of politicians […]
Militia kills more than 35 civilians in east Congo village attack
Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo Reuters Armed militants killed more than 35 civilians in an attack on a cluster of villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a village chief and a lawmaker said on Tuesday, with a search for more bodies expected to lift the eventual death toll sharply. The head of the Djaiba […]
M23 rebels threaten to advance on Bukavu as fighting flares

Reuters The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in Democratic Republic of Congo threatened on Tuesday to advance on the provincial capital of Bukavu, citing a “dangerously deteriorating” situation, as Congo rejected a call for direct talks with the rebels. The capture of Bukavu would represent an unprecedented expansion of territory under the M23’s control and deal […]