Latest news with #Suminwa
Russia Today
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
DR Congo conflict has claimed 7,000 lives
In a recent address to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Judith Suminwa, reported that ongoing battles in the country's eastern regions have led to the deaths of about 7,000 people since January. Suminwa said that approximately 3,000 of these deaths occurred in Goma, a major city in the eastern part of the country. Additionally, nearly 90 displacement camps have been destroyed, leaving around 450,000 people without shelter. DRC has been plagued by decades of violence, particularly in the eastern part of the country, as dozens of armed groups, including M23, fight local authorities. In their latest offensive, the rebels have seized Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province, and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu. According to the UN, M23 has appointed de facto authorities, including a governor and mayor in Goma. The DRC government has repeatedly accused Rwanda of providing support to M23 rebels – a claim Kigali has consistently denied. The prime minister called for international intervention, urging the global community to impose 'dissuasive sanctions' on Rwanda in response to a humanitarian crisis marked by mass displacements and reports of summary executions. She emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, 'It is impossible to describe the screams and cries of millions of victims of this conflict.' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the same meeting, expressed deep concern over the global state of human rights, referencing the alarming abuses occurring in the DRC. He underscored the critical need to address violations of territorial integrity to prevent further deterioration of the situation. On Saturday, the rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), including M23 militants, expressed readiness for talks with the DRC government to end fighting in the east. AFC spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka announced the group's commitment to a negotiated solution and a unilateral ceasefire declared on February 4. The ceasefire aims to support resolutions from recent regional peace conferences calling for political dialogue with the Congolese government. Kanyuka urged the government to fully implement these agreements. Meanwhile, the African Union has warned of a potential DRC breakup, and the UN fears regional escalation. On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding M23 cease hostilities, withdraw from occupied areas, and dismantle illegitimate parallel administrations in the country.
Al Jazeera
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Fighting in eastern DRC killed about 7,000 people since January, PM says
More than 7,000 people have been killed in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since last month, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa says, with a 'significant' number of civilians among the dead. Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Switzerland on Monday, Suminwa warned that 'the security situation in eastern DRC has reached alarming levels'. About 3,000 deaths were reported in Goma, the capital of the eastern DRC's North Kivu province, the prime minister said. She added that more than 2,500 bodies were buried without being identified while another 1,500 were still in morgues. 'There is a significant mass of civilians who are part of these dead,' Suminwa said. Since January, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has captured swaths of the eastern DRC, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. The group's rapid offensive has prompted concern from world leaders, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who recently warned that the fighting could 'push the entire region over the precipice'. Rwanda has rejected allegations from the DRC, the UN and Western governments that it supports the rebels with weapons and troops. During Monday's address in Geneva, Suminwa urged the world to act and to impose 'dissuasive sanctions' on Rwanda amid mass displacement and reports of summary executions. 'It is impossible to describe the screams and cries of millions of victims of this conflict,' she said. Guterres also told the Human Rights Council that the situation in the country was 'a deadly whirlwind of violence and horrifying human rights abuses'. 'The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected,' the UN chief said. 'As more cities fall, the risk of a regional war rises. It's time to silence the guns.' Rebel fighters took control of Bukavu just over a week ago after first capturing Goma last month. About 40,000 people have fled the violence to neighbouring Burundi over a two-week span, the UN said on Friday. The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of the eastern DRC's trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 soldiers from neighbouring Rwanda, according to UN experts.
CBC
24-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
At least 7,000 have died in Congo this year, country's PM tells UN's human rights council
Social Sharing Some 7,000 people have died since January in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the prime minister of the DRC told a high-level meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, with combatants and civilians among the dead. About 3,000 deaths were reported in Goma, Judith Suminwa said. Since January, the M23 rebel group, which Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing, has captured swathes of eastern Congo, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, and valuable mineral deposits. The latest fighting, and M23's advance, are part of a major escalation in eastern Congo in a conflict over power, identity and resources dating back to the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. UN chief Antonio Guterres, at the Geneva meeting, said human rights around the world were being "suffocated" and made reference to horrifying abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Allegations of 'summary executions' Rwanda rejects allegations from Congo, the United Nations and Western powers that it supports M23 rebels with arms and troops. Suminwa urged the world to act and to impose "dissuasive sanctions" on Rwanda amid mass displacements and summary executions. "It is impossible to describe the screams and cries of millions of victims of this conflict," she said. Kambale Musavuli, a Ghana-based analyst with the Center for Research on the Congo-Kinshasa, told CBC News Network on Sunday that "every day we are getting reports of summary executions of young Congolese who are refusing to join [M23]." Musavuli said that a diplomatic situation is needed, and that the international community has a stake in what transpires. "[Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau should be engaged in this process, holding Canadian companies accountable for pilfering Congo resources," he said. In Brussels, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU will review its agreement with Rwanda over critical raw materials due to the country's links with M23 rebels in the DRC. The U.S. Treasury Department last week sanctioned Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, a spokesperson for M23, but also James Kabarebe, a Rwandan minister of state for regional integration. The U.S. alleges Kabarebe is a liaison to M23 who "orchestrates [Rwandan Defence Forces] support for the armed group." Rwanda's government said it considered the Kabarebe sanction "unjustified and unfounded." WATCH l Kambale Musavuli speaks to CBC on deteriorating conditions in the Congo: CBC's Marianne Dimain speaks with a Policy Analyst at the Center for Research on the Congo-Kinshasa 1 day ago Duration 6:34 Get the latest on the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis. Burundi deals with Congolese influx Suminwa warned that the worsening security situation with M23 and other armed groups could spill over to neighbouring countries, posing a danger to them. "If this question of the violation of territorial integrity isn't resolved, the situation could degenerate," Suminwa told Reuters in a press briefing after her address to the Council. About 40,000 people have fled to Burundi, one of the nine countries that borders the DRC, in the preceding two weeks to escape the fighting, the UN said on Friday. Brigitte Mukanga-Eno, representative for the UN Refugee Agency, told CBC's As It Happens last week that some even used jerrycans as flotation devices to cross via the Ruzizi River between the countries. "This influx is the biggest that Burundi has seen in so many years," she said. The refugees are mostly women and children, she said, with thousands temporarily placed in open-air conditions at Rugombo Stadium in Rubombo, Burundi. Aid groups are scrambling to both get plastic tents for the new arrivals as well as find a more suitable place to shelter them.
Al Jazeera
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Fighting in eastern DRC kills about 7,000 people since January, PM says
More than 7,000 people have been killed in fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since last month, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa says, with a 'significant' number of civilians among the dead. Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Switzerland on Monday, Suminwa warned that 'the security situation in eastern DRC has reached alarming levels'. About 3,000 deaths were reported in Goma, the capital of the eastern DRC's North Kivu province, the prime minister said. She added that more than 2,500 bodies were buried without being identified while another 1,500 were still in morgues. 'There is a significant mass of civilians who are part of these dead,' Suminwa said. Since January, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has captured swaths of the eastern DRC, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. The group's rapid offensive has prompted concern from world leaders, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who recently warned that the fighting could 'push the entire region over the precipice'. Rwanda has rejected allegations from the DRC, the UN and Western governments that it supports the rebels with weapons and troops. During Monday's address in Geneva, Suminwa urged the world to act and to impose 'dissuasive sanctions' on Rwanda amid mass displacement and reports of summary executions. 'It is impossible to describe the screams and cries of millions of victims of this conflict,' she said. Guterres also told the Human Rights Council that the situation in the country was 'a deadly whirlwind of violence and horrifying human rights abuses'. 'The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected,' the UN chief said. 'As more cities fall, the risk of a regional war rises. It's time to silence the guns.' Rebel fighters took control of Bukavu just over a week ago after first capturing Goma last month. About 40,000 people have fled the violence to neighbouring Burundi over a two-week span, the UN said on Friday. The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of the eastern DRC's trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 soldiers from neighbouring Rwanda, according to UN experts.
