Latest news with #Rwandan-backed
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Democratic Republic Of The Congo: National Ownership Essential To Address Internal Displacement Crisis, Says UN Expert
Kinshasa, 2 June 2025 The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo must lead protection of internally displaced persons across the country, where over 7 million people have been driven from their homes by armed conflict, intercommunal violence and forced evictions in the context of conservation and extractive projects, and disasters. 'The Democratic Republic of the Congo faces one of the world's largest and most protracted internal displacement crises, exacerbated by the ongoing occupation of North and South Kivu by Rwandan-backed AFC/M23 rebels,' said Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, in a statement at the end of an official visit to the country. 'This crisis has had devastating impacts on displaced civilians, who have been subjected to murder, summary executions, rampant sexual and gender-based violence, forced labour, forced returns, and used as human shields, among other grave violations of their human rights in the context of multiple conflicts and generalised violence,' the Special Rapporteur said. 'Many are also struggling to meet their basic needs, particularly given the devastating impacts of foreign aid reductions on the ability of humanitarian agencies to respond to this crisis.' Gaviria Betancur welcomed Government efforts to strengthen displacement-related legal and policy frameworks and address root causes of internal displacement through conflict management and land reform. She called for greater State leadership on these issues. 'While the Government has understandably focused much of its efforts on regaining sovereignty over its territory in the East, sovereignty also brings with it responsibility,' she said. 'Particularly given the decline in international assistance, the Government can no longer afford to outsource its responsibilities towards internally displaced persons and must take the lead in ensuring coordinated, accountable responses to internal displacement throughout its territory.' Despite the challenging circumstances confronting internally displaced persons, Gaviria Betancur expressed her admiration for the resilience and tenacity these individuals have demonstrated. 'I was deeply moved by the simplicity and dignity of the demands I heard from internally displaced people, not for handouts but rather to return to their lands in safety, regain self-reliance and rebuild their lives,' she said. 'It is imperative to support these aspirations through Government-led approaches, supported by the international community, that enable durable solutions to their displacement. The world cannot afford to turn its back on the internally displaced people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They have suffered long enough and deserve sustainable peace.' The Special Rapporteur will present a detailed report on her findings to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026.
France 24
6 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Former DR Congo president Kabila visits rebel-held Goma
DR Congo 's former president Joseph Kabila met with local leaders in Goma, a city controlled by the M23 rebels, on Thursday, according to journalists in eastern Congolese city near the border with Rwanda. A team of AFP journalists saw Kabila meet local religious figures in the presence of the M23's spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka, without giving a statement. On Wednesday, three people close to Kabila told Reuters had arrived in Goma over the weekend. Kabila's visit comes despite the former president facing the possibility of a treason trial over his alleged support for the Rwandan-backed M23. Last week, the DR Congo's Senate voted to strip Kabila's immunity, thereby enabling his prosecution. Felix Tshisekedi, Kabila's successor as the Democratic Republic of Congo's president, accuses Kabila of being the brains behind the armed group, which has seized swathes of the resource-rich Congolese east with Rwanda's help. Kabila's visit to Goma could complicate a US-backed bid to end the M23 rebellion in eastern Congo, which contains valuable minerals that US President Donald Trump 's administration is keen to help mine. The 53-year-old's visit comes after the DR Congo's ruling party warned him to stay out of Congolese affairs, with the Congolese government locked in talks with the US and Rwanda aimed at ending the fighting. Kabila, who denies accusations that he supports the M23 insurgency, agreed to step down following protests and external pressure in 2018 after almost two decades in power. He has been out of the country since late 2023. 'Kabila is not Congolese' A day after the Senate voted to lift his parliamentary immunity, Kabila blasted the current government's "dictatorship" and said he would be visiting Goma "in the next few days". In a rare speech streamed live on the internet, Kabila took aim at Tshisekedi and his government. "Following a simple rumour from the street or social networks, about my alleged presence in Goma, where I will be going in the next few days... the regime in place in Kinshasa took arbitrary decisions with disconcerting levity, which testifies to the spectacular retreat of democracy in our country," Kabila said. Tshisekedi's party hit back the next day, saying the "Rwandan" should stop meddling in the country's affairs. "Kabila is not Congolese," Augustin Kabuya, Secretary-General of Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) insisted in a speech Sunday at the party's headquarters in Kinshasa. "Let him leave the Congolese to deal with their own problems. He, a Rwandan subject whose rule was imposed on us, must leave the Congolese alone," Kabuya added, accusing him of leading the M23. Kabuya said the former president "has nothing to teach us when it comes to democracy", referring to people killed by the authorities during protests against Kabila's rule.
TimesLIVE
7 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
DRC faces rising military costs, tax shortfall in revised 'combat budget'
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is grappling with soaring military costs and declining tax revenues due to an offensive by Rwandan-backed rebels, who now occupy much of the country's eastern borderlands, a revised wartime budget under consideration by lawmakers showed. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said this month that the fighting was straining public finances, citing the closure of revenue collection offices in areas controlled by the M23 rebels and elevated security spending linked to the conflict. Initially expected in mid-March, President Felix Tshisekedi's cabinet approved the budget bill on Friday. It now goes to parliament for debate and voting. It includes slightly decreased spending of $17.2bn (R307.84bn), according to the minutes of the cabinet meeting, and reflects a drop in tax revenue to 12.5% of GDP from 15.1% expected under the original budget approved in December. The finance ministry announced in March it was doubling salaries for soldiers and police in an apparent bid to boost morale. That move is expected to cost $500m (R8.95bn) this year, a military official and a government source told Reuters.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Congo ex-president Kabila visits rebel-held Goma for talks, associates say
(Reuters) -Congolese former president Joseph Kabila has arrived in the rebel-held eastern city of Goma for talks with locals, three people close to him told Reuters, a month after declaring he wanted to help end the crisis in the war-ravaged region. If confirmed, the visit could complicate a U.S.-backed bid to end a rebellion by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group in eastern Congo, which contains valuable minerals that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is keen to help mine. Kabila, who has denied accusations by Kinshasa that he supports the M23 insurgency, agreed to step down following protests and external pressure in 2018 after almost two decades in power. He has been out of the country since late 2023, mostly in South Africa. The three people said the former president will begin holding consultations on Wednesday with citizens in Goma, which fell under the control of M23 in January during an advance that has seen the group seize more ground than ever before. The people close to Kabila said he had arrived in Goma on Sunday night. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the rebel alliance that includes M23, has also said on social media that Kabila is in Goma, though Kabila himself has not spoken and no images of him in Goma have been published. The reported visit follows a vote in the Senate in Kinshasa last week overwhelmingly in favour of lifting his immunity from prosecution over his alleged links to M23. Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in a briefing aired on state television Tuesday that Kabila was "positioning himself as the rebel leader" along with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Kabila is wanted in Congo for alleged crimes against humanity for supporting the insurgency in the east, including a role in the massacre of civilians. Congo has also moved to suspend his political party and seize the assets of its leaders. In a speech on Friday evening, Kabila said Congo's justice system was being "openly exploited for political ends" and was "nothing more than an instrument of oppression" for President Felix Tshisekedi's government. PUSH FOR PEACE Kabila, who came to power in 2001 after his father's assassination, clung to office following Congo's disputed 2018 election for almost two years through an awkward power-sharing deal with Tshisekedi. Tshisekdi cut him out at the end of 2020 by chipping away at his influence and accusing him of blocking reforms. The two men's relationship has since soured to the point that, as M23 marched on east Congo's second-largest city of Bukavu in February, Tshisekedi told the Munich Security Conference that Kabila had sponsored the insurgency. Washington is pushing for a peace agreement to be signed this summer, accompanied by minerals deals aimed at bringing billions of dollars of Western investment to the region, Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters earlier this month. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Congo faces rising military costs, tax shortfall in revised 'combat budget'
By Sonia Rolley (Reuters) - Congo is grappling with soaring military costs and declining tax revenues due to an offensive by Rwandan-backed rebels, who now occupy much of the country's eastern borderlands, a revised wartime budget under consideration by lawmakers showed. The International Monetary Fund said this month that the fighting was straining public finances, citing the closure of revenue collection offices in areas controlled by the M23 rebels and elevated security spending linked to the conflict. Initially expected in mid-March, President Felix Tshisekedi's cabinet approved the budget bill on Friday. It now goes to parliament for debate and voting. It includes slightly decreased spending of $17.2 billion, according to the minutes of the cabinet meeting, and reflects a drop in tax revenue to 12.5% of GDP from 15.1% expected under the original budget approved in December. The finance ministry announced in March it was doubling salaries for soldiers and police in an apparent bid to boost morale. That move is expected to cost $500 million this year, a military official and a government source told Reuters. Exceptional security-related expenditures cost the government estimated $1 billion in the first four months of 2025, two government sources said. All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to disclose the figures. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond on Tuesday to questions about the budget and military spending. The domestic budget deficit widened to 0.8% of GDP in 2024 and is projected to reach 1.2% this year, Rene Tapsoba, the IMF's resident representative for Congo told Reuters. The conflict and loss of control of territory in the east, which is home to lucrative gold, tin and coltan reserves, could account for a 4% shortfall in expected tax revenue, he said. While noting that exceptional security expenditure was "very high", Tapsoba said the government had sought to reduce its operating expenditures by cutting the budgets of ministries and the salaries of the heads of institutions. Despite ramped-up security spending, army officials still report persistent shortages of food, ammunition and basic equipment. Much of the funding appears to have gone to arms procurement, one Congolese general told Reuters. "The bulk of these funds are handled outside the formal budget framework," a senior official at the finance ministry said, asking not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media. "We don't have full visibility either." The war in the east has spotlighted entrenched problems in the military. According to a Senate report this month, the army counts 268,602 personnel, including 74,000 deployed in combat zones. More than 36,000, however, are classified as inactive - among them, 3,618 retired soldiers awaiting $145 million in unpaid benefits. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing the rebels and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide. (Additional reporting by Ange Adihe Kasongo in Kinshasa; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Joe Bavier)
