Latest news with #rebel
The Independent
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Congo's draft peace deal with M23 seeks to return government control to rebel-held areas
A proposed peace deal between the government of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seeks to reinstate government control over rebel-held areas, according to a copy of the draft seen by The Associated Press. The deal, which was proposed by Qatar, outlines a three-phase process to achieve peace. The proposal will be discussed under mediation by both parties in Doha in coming days. In a statement in Kinshasa on Tuesday, Belgium's foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, told reporters that Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi is not satisfied with the draft agreement. 'A new phase of discussions will open in the coming hours and days in Doha. President Tshisekedi confirmed to me that the proposed text is not satisfactory. That is an important element to keep in mind,' said Prévot. M23 president Bertrand Bisimwa said the rebel group had 'no comment at this stage on this project.' He added: "For now, we are focusing on implementing the Doha Declaration in terms of the ceasefire and the release of prisoners.' Congo has been wracked by conflict with more than 100 armed groups, with the loss of millions of lives since the 1990s. The current fighting is the most intense in years and culminated earlier this year when M23 rebels captured major cities in the east of the country for the first time in more than a decade. The group took control of Goma and Bukavu, along with a dozen smaller towns, earlier this year and has consolidated its hold by appointing loyalists to senior administrative positions. The draft peace deal — whose authenticity was confirmed to AP by M23 — would be the culmination of a U.S. sponsored attempt at peace that began with a signing ceremony between Congo and Rwanda in Washington last month. In statements on Tuesday, the Congolese government and M23 accused each other of violating the ceasefire. The accusations come after a deadline for a peace deal set for Monday expired. The M23 rebel group is the most prominent armed group in the conflict, and its major advance early this year left bodies on the streets. With 7 million people displaced in Congo, the United Nations has called it 'one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.'
Washington Post
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
After Trump-backed peace deal, survivors recount rebel massacre in Congo
Rwandan-backed fighters from the M23 rebel group killed scores of civilians last month in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to survivors, undermining a new American push to resolve one of the world's most complex and intractable conflicts.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Congo rejects Kenya's diplomatic appointment to conflict-hit Goma
M23 rebels guard outside the South Kivu province administrative office, at the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga , File) LAGOS, Nigeria — The Congolese government on Saturday rejected Kenya's appointment of a consul general to its conflict-hit city of Goma, citing what it called a violation of international law and a lack of proper diplomatic process. Goma, located in eastern Congo, has been at the centre of a conflict between the Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which launched a lightning assault on the mineral-rich regional city in January. The city fell to the rebel group after days of fighting, and the Congolese army withdrew. The Congolese foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday that Kenya did not contact Congo's government in the capital, Kinshasa, before making the announcement, as required by international law and diplomatic practice. M23, which is one of about a hundred groups fighting in eastern Congo, has attempted to establish a parallel government in the region, saying it is freeing the region from what it alleges is misrule by Kinshasa. M23 has been accused of widespread abuses, and Congo's government argued that the way Kenya nominated the diplomat to the occupied city of Goma without informing the Congolese government could appear to legitimize the rebel group's occupation. Kenya's announcement was made Friday as part of a raft of diplomatic appointments. Congo's foreign ministry called for 'caution and discernment in public communication to avoid any misunderstanding, speculation, or the appearance of legitimization of the ongoing illegal occupation.' Qatar has tried to mediate between the Congolese government and the rebel group, which led to the signing of a 'declaration of principles' to end the decades-long fighting, but talks have since faltered and fighting has resumed. The conflict has been a magnet for neighbouring countries, including Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, all of which have had troops on the grounds, complicating regional efforts to end the fighting. Christian Moleka, a Congo-based political analyst, told The Associated Press that the appointment might have regional implications. He said it could reinforce Kinshasa's distrust of Kenya, which has been moving closer to Rwanda under President William Ruto, and weaken regional initiatives to establish peace.
CTV News
12-08-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
DR Congo army accuses M23 of ‘multiple attacks' despite ceasefire deal
BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - FEBRUARY 22: M23 rebels guard a unit of surrendering Congolese police officers who will be recruited into the rebel group on February 22, 2025 in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 swept into Bukavu over the weekend, taking control of the city with a population of approximately one million people in Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) South Kivu Province. Hundreds of thousands of people in the eastern part of the DRC have been displaced as the rebel group has made swift advances against Congolese pro-government forces in recent weeks. (Photo by Hugh) The Congolese army accused the Rwanda-backed M23 militia on Tuesday of 'multiple attacks' on its positions in the east, where several days of fighting have threatened a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources but plagued by non-state armed groups, has suffered extreme violence for more than three decades. Since taking up arms again at the end of 2021 the M23 armed group has seized swathes of land in the restive region with Rwanda's backing, triggering a spiralling humanitarian crisis. A fresh surge of unrest broke out early this year when the M23 captured the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, setting up their own administrations. M23 rebels guard outside the South Kivu province administrative office, at the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga , File) M23 rebels guard outside the South Kivu province administrative office, at the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga , File) The Congolese government and the M23 signed a declaration of principles on July 19 in Qatar that included a 'permanent ceasefire' aimed at halting the conflict. It followed a separate peace deal between the Congolese and Rwandan governments signed in Washington the previous month. But violence has continued on the ground, with fighting becoming more intense since Friday around the town of Mulamba in South Kivu province, where the front line had been relatively stable since March. The M23 attacked positions between held by pro-Kinshasa militia and army forces and pushed them back several kilometres, local and security sources said. The 'almost daily' attacks constitute an 'intentional and manifest violation' of the Washington peace deal and the declaration of principles agreed in Doha, Congolese army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said in a statement. The army said it was ready to respond 'to all provocations from this coalition, accustomed to violating agreements'. M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a post on X on Monday that the DRC's government was continuing 'offensive military manoeuvres aimed at full-scale war'. Rwandan Meddling Is Deepening Congo's Deadly Conflict The Shabindu camp, where internally displaced people from Masisi territory take refuge following clashes between M23 rebels and the Congolese army, in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Photographer: Arlette Bashizi/Bloomberg (Arlette Bashizi/Bloomberg) Rwanda denials After a lull in the morning, fighting resumed in Mulamba on Tuesday afternoon, according to local sources. Both sides had rushed reinforcements to the territory on Sunday, the sources added. Any breakthrough by the M23 in the mountainous region would give the armed group control of many mining sites, most of them gold and run by Chinese businesses. Neither side has provided a toll from the clashes. Dozens of ceasefires and truces have been brokered and broken in recent years without providing a lasting end to the conflict. At the beginning of August, UN human rights chief Volker Turk accused the M23 of having killed at least 319 civilians in July, insisting the fighters were 'backed by members' of the Rwandan army. Rwanda on Monday branded the UN's accusations its army had helped kill civilians 'unacceptable'. Kigali has consistently denied providing M23 military support. A report from UN experts in July however found that Rwanda's army played a 'critical' role in the M23's conquest of Goma and Bukavu, capital of the North and South Kivu provinces respectively. More than two million people have fled the violence in both North and South Kivu since the beginning of 2025, according to a late July report from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Rwanda has long maintained that it faces an existential threat from the FDLR, a militia founded in the Congolese east by ethnic Hutu leaders involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of Tutsis.
Khaleej Times
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
'Saiyaara' Review: Ahaan Panday makes a striking debut in this tale of conflicted love
He gets angry at a media executive who doesn't value talent. He lashes out at music companies for promoting nepo kids over real artistes. He is enraged with the world for prioritising social media likes, shares and money over real art. So what does he do? Beat those he has a beef with, to pulp. Fight with his bandmates and manager who support him. Yell for no particular reason. Treat people with disrespect and occasionally get naughty with a stranger in a bar to prove his devil-may-care credentials. Meet Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), the rebel without a cause or pause in Saiyaara, an 'intense' love story helmed by Mohit Suri who revels in telling tales of sad, tormented souls (Zeher, Woh Lamhe, Aashiqui 2 to name just a few). The buzz around this film has also been rather intense the last few weeks. Box office pundits are decoding how a movie with newcomers raked in such a huge initial. The music, credited to an army of composers — Faheem Abdullah, Tanishk Bagchi, John Steward Eduri, Rishabh Kant, Vishal Mishra, Arslan Nizami, Mithun Sharma, Sachet and Parampara (Phew! Have I left out anyone?) — has caught on with Gen-Z. Producer YRF's unique marketing strategy of keeping the actors shrouded in mystery by avoiding media exposure has also generated ample headlines. Frankly, there hasn't been so much positive news about an emotional love story from Bollywood in a long time, a genre many felt was gasping for breath under the weight of big scale action thrillers and comedies. I belong to the cult of cinebuffs who believe that romantic films — be they breezy romcoms or deep dramas — should never die so I will cheer for anything that brings relationships back into the cinematic spotlight. However, Saiyaara is really hard to root for. Once again, it's that kind of movie that is burdened with the heaviness of its own imagined poignancy and greatness. The makers obviously decided to go the musical route and it's a wise decision too (more on that below) but they could have at least devoted half the resources to tell an original or compelling story. Suri is an inspired filmmaker who loves getting inspired by world cinema. His Ek Villain was a rip off of I Saw The Devil, Aashiqui 2 was a desi -fied version of A Star is Born, Zeher resembled Out of Time and so on. Saiyaara is a reimagination of the Korean hit A Moment to Remember, based on a Japanese TV drama Pure Soul which was then remade as a Turkish film. (Thank you Wikipedia!). Despite so many 'inspirations', the story is as hackneyed as ever — two emotionally-conflicted souls come together, create some magical music and beautiful mayhem until one of them is diagnosed with a terminal illness. The aforementioned rebel child Krish is a musician with anger management issues and an alcoholic father who falls for soft, simple and chronically depressed Vaani Batra, an aspiring journalist and song-writer nursing a broken heart. Vaani, like most nice Bollywood girls in love with bad boys, becomes the rehabilitation centre for Krish. He helps her get over her heartbreak, she helps him find direction and control his anger. Vaani's songs and Krish's music finally lead him to becoming the star he dreamt of until she learns she suffers from early Alzheimer's. From then on, it's a test of endurance for their love and our patience. Saiyaara has been cast in the same mould as Aashiqui 2. A lot of tears are shed, the lead characters are sad most of the time and there is not a joke that is cracked in the entire run time of the film. Both lovers keep sacrificing for each other when they could have just had a heart-to-heart conversation, accepted the situation and come up with practical solutions. But perhaps practical love isn't true love! So Krish and Vaani needlessly suffer the pangs of separation, misunderstanding and heartbreak until the 'death do us part' climax — all underlined by songs on pain, love, angst etc. Thankfully, the songs make the efforts worth it. The tracks, be it Barbaad, Humsafar or Dhun are pleasant to the ears and will be played on late night radio for a long time. But for a film based on the music industry, the portrayal of newcomers' struggles, the constant art vs commerce debate and the role of promoters is remarkably generic. Fame comes rather easy to Krish after some initial conflicts, characterised by screaming fans and whirlwind tours (conveniently shown as names of cities on screen against a montage of him singing). At one point, a character screams excitedly 'We are the most reeled artists in India', followed by an announcement of the ultimate definition of musical success in Bollywood - a concert at Wembley. The characters are flat and one-dimensional — brooding hero, simpering heroine, supportive parents, steadfast friend, mean ex, caricaturish music mogul... you have seen them all before. The issue with Saiyaara is that it tries to be melancholic, deep, passionate and complex all at once and the effort shows. But that doesn't mean it's unwatchable. Despite the flaws, the film is quite entertaining and worth the popcorn, even if it doesn't exactly tug your heartstrings the way the makers intended it to. And the credit for that goes to Suri's handling of the debutants. This brings us to the question you have been waiting for — are they worth the mystery? The good news: yes. Ahaan Panday might be the latest nepo baby on the block (for the uninformed, he is Chunky Panday's brother's son and Ananya Panday's cousin) but the young man has a great screen presence and can move his facial muscles well in the emotional scenes. Aneet Padda is pretty and gives her all to Vaani's morose character. Together, they have good chemistry and make you believe in them. Definitely a far better debut than what we have seen on screen of late! As far as immortal love stories go, Saiyaara is way off the mark. But just as a defiant member of the 'return to romance' trend, it's definitely a welcome guest at the movies. And yes, play the music on your road trips!
