DR Congo

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a senior government official is mobilizing public sentiment by framing regional conflict as a national struggle against Rwandan aggression. Minister Samuel Mbemba directly links domestic political support for President Félix Tshisekedi to the security crisis in the east, portraying dissent as unpatriotic. The event, combining a political rally with the distribution of money and gifts, illustrates a strategy of using humanitarian rhetoric and material incentives to consolidate populist backing. This approach effectivelyContinue Reading

In response to violent clashes over a rejected police station, Beni’s civil society has brokered a crucial community dialogue, shifting the focus from outright refusal to conditional acceptance of security forces. The core breakthrough is the community’s agreement to host police, contingent on authorities addressing the root cause: security agents themselves being accused of extortion and nocturnal raids that fuel insecurity. This pragmatic solution underscores that sustainable peace requires not just the presence of state forces, but their accountable transformation into genuine protectors. The incidentContinue Reading

A government suspension of artisanal mining and mineral processing in the DRC’s Lualaba province has triggered fatal protests, revealing the severe economic and social instability caused by top-down policy changes in the sector. The violent clashes, which included road blockades, property damage, and the deadly beating of a mining company employee, underscore the immediate human cost and security risks when the livelihoods of countless artisanal miners are abruptly cut off. In response, provincial authorities are attempting a precarious balance, urging complianceContinue Reading

The opposition PPRD party in the DRC alleges a systematic campaign of state-sponsored intimidation, marked by the early morning abduction of its senior leader, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. This event is framed not as an isolated incident but as part of a broader pattern of “terror acts” targeting the party’s executive, occurring alongside a government-ordered suspension of its activities. The core accusation is that the ruling regime is deliberately dismantling political opposition under the guise of legal measures, thereby exacerbatingContinue Reading