Latest news with #CongoleseGovernment
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rwanda pulls out of regional bloc over DR Congo row
Rwanda has said it is pulling out of a central African regional bloc after a diplomatic row over its involvement in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country was supposed to take up the chairman role of the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), which rotates between its 11 members. But it was prevented from doing so at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea. Announcing its decision to leave Eccas, Rwanda said its right to take up the "chairmanship… was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC's diktat". As a result it "sees no justification for remaining in an organisation whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose". The row comes as efforts to end the fighting in eastern DR Congo continue. Following US mediation, Rwanda and DR Congo are working on a draft peace plan that is expected to be signed later this month. According to a statement from the Congolese presidency, the Eccas leaders at the summit "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil". It added that until the dispute is resolved it was decided that Equatorial Guinea would remain in the chairman role "to the detriment of Rwanda". In a comment directed at Rwanda, Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said that "one cannot continually and voluntarily violate the principles that underpin our regional institutions and claim to want to preside over them". He added that the Eccas decision "should inspire other regional organisations to adopt a firmer stance against Rwanda". Rwanda has been accused of supporting M23 rebels in the east of DR Congo. The group has made major advances at the beginning of the year, taking the key regional cities of Goma and Bukavu. DR Congo's government, as well as the US and France, have identified Rwanda as backing the M23. Last year, a UN experts' report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the rebels. But Rwanda has denied the accusations saying instead that its troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over to its territory. Rwanda has once before, in 2007, left Eccas, whose mission is to foster co-operation and strengthen regional integration in central Africa. It rejoined several years later. Additional reporting by Emery Makumeno What's the fighting in DR Congo all about? The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR Congo 'We would vote for peace - if we had a vote' Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Rwanda pulls out of regional bloc over DR Congo row
Rwanda has said it is pulling out of a central African regional bloc after a diplomatic row over its involvement in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of country was supposed to take up the chairman role of the Economic Community of Central African States (Eccas), which rotates between its 11 it was prevented from doing so at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial its decision to leave Eccas, Rwanda said its right to take up the "chairmanship… was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC's diktat". As a result it "sees no justification for remaining in an organisation whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose".The row comes as efforts to end the fighting in eastern DR Congo continue. Following US mediation, Rwanda and DR Congo are working on a draft peace plan that is expected to be signed later this to a statement from the Congolese presidency, the Eccas leaders at the summit "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil".It added that until the dispute is resolved it was decided that Equatorial Guinea would remain in the chairman role "to the detriment of Rwanda".In a comment directed at Rwanda, Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said that "one cannot continually and voluntarily violate the principles that underpin our regional institutions and claim to want to preside over them".He added that the Eccas decision "should inspire other regional organisations to adopt a firmer stance against Rwanda".Rwanda has been accused of supporting M23 rebels in the east of DR Congo. The group has made major advances at the beginning of the year, taking the key regional cities of Goma and Congo's government, as well as the US and France, have identified Rwanda as backing the year, a UN experts' report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the Rwanda has denied the accusations saying instead that its troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over to its has once before, in 2007, left Eccas, whose mission is to foster co-operation and strengthen regional integration in central Africa. It rejoined several years reporting by Emery Makumeno You may also be interested in: What's the fighting in DR Congo all about?The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR Congo'We would vote for peace - if we had a vote' Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Associated Press
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Red Cross escorts over 1,000 disarmed Congolese soldiers from rebel-controlled city to capital
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Over a thousand disarmed Congolese soldiers and police officers, along with their families, have safely been transferred from the rebel-controlled city of Goma in eastern Congo to the capital over the last two weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced Thursday. The soldiers and police officers had been taking refuge at the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Congo's base since January, when the decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma. The Red Cross said in a statement it helped escort the 1,359 disarmed members of the government forces and their families from Goma to the capital Kinshasa between April 30 and May 15th, traveling nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and across a front line. The ICRC said it accompanied several convoys on the road, while transport by helicopter and plane was carried out by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo and the country's armed forces. 'The operation has been a success, it has enabled those transported to Kinshasa to get back in touch with their families and, we hope, will reduce tensions in the city of Goma,' Myriam Favier, head of the ICRC's sub-delegation in Goma, said. The transfer of the government forces was the result of an agreement reached between the Congolese government, the rebels, the U.N. mission and the ICRC, which was called upon as a neutral intermediary, the Red Cross said, adding that it made sure that all the individuals had consented to being transported in the convoys. For security reasons, no media outlets were allowed to film or photograph the operation. The news of the successful transfer comes amid persistent tensions in eastern Congo, where fighting between Congo's army and M23 continues, despite both sides having agreed to work toward a truce last month. Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. The M23 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, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. On Thursday, Congolese authorities accused Rwanda's army and M23 of having killed dozens and abducted thousands in eastern Congo. Last week, Congo and Rwanda submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process, with the Trump administration eyeing access to critical minerals in the resource-rich region. ——- Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Red Cross escorts over 1,000 disarmed Congolese soldiers from rebel-controlled city to capital
Over a thousand disarmed Congolese soldiers and police officers, along with their families, have safely been transferred from the rebel-controlled city of Goma in eastern Congo to the capital over the last two weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced Thursday. The soldiers and police officers had been taking refuge at the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Congo's base since January, when the decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated as the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma. The Red Cross said in a statement it helped escort the 1,359 disarmed members of the government forces and their families from Goma to the capital Kinshasa between April 30 and May 15th, traveling nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and across a front line. The ICRC said it accompanied several convoys on the road, while transport by helicopter and plane was carried out by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo and the country's armed forces. 'The operation has been a success, it has enabled those transported to Kinshasa to get back in touch with their families and, we hope, will reduce tensions in the city of Goma,' Myriam Favier, head of the ICRC's sub-delegation in Goma, said. The transfer of the government forces was the result of an agreement reached between the Congolese government, the rebels, the U.N. mission and the ICRC, which was called upon as a neutral intermediary, the Red Cross said, adding that it made sure that all the individuals had consented to being transported in the convoys. For security reasons, no media outlets were allowed to film or photograph the operation. The news of the successful transfer comes amid persistent tensions in eastern Congo, where fighting between Congo's army and M23 continues, despite both sides having agreed to work toward a truce last month. Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. The M23 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, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. On Thursday, Congolese authorities accused Rwanda's army and M23 of having killed dozens and abducted thousands in eastern Congo. Last week, Congo and Rwanda submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process, with the Trump administration eyeing access to critical minerals in the resource-rich region. ——- Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's MMG suspends operations at new DRC plant after year-long cobalt slump
Chinese state-controlled mining company MMG suspended its cobalt processing plant at the Kinsevere mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shortly after its opening due to a price slump and a recent export ban, reported Bloomberg. MMG halted operations at its Kinsevere mine facility in December 2024 due to unfavourable market conditions for cobalt, a key component in electric vehicle batteries. The company, which is majority-owned by China Minmetals, had invested up to $600m in a project to boost copper output and initiate cobalt production at Kinsevere. Despite the investment, the cobalt facility was placed on care and maintenance shortly after commissioning began in September 2023. The DRC, a major producer of cobalt, has seen a surge in production, particularly by China's CMOC Group, leading to an oversupply that has driven down prices. Last month, the Congolese Government imposed a four-month export ban aimed at curbing oversupply and exerting greater control over cobalt pricing. MMG's spokesperson stated that the company has adopted a "flexible production strategy" and will resume cobalt operations based on price evaluations, while also planning to increase copper production by at least 40% this year. Last year, the company produced 1,600 tonnes (t) of cobalt from the Kinsevere operations and 380,000t of copper from its operations across Africa, Australia and South America. Its most substantial asset is the Las Bambas mine in Peru. The DRC also initiated a state monopoly to oversee the production and export of artisanal cobalt. The new regulations grant state-owned Entreprise Generale du Cobalt exclusive rights to export hand-dug cobalt. "China's MMG suspends operations at new DRC plant after year-long cobalt slump" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
