Can military action fix DR Congo’s conflict?
The M23 rebel army, which seized control of areas along the border with Rwanda, is now establishing its own administration, complete with ministers, committees and local councils. The group is trying to present itself as a new type of Congolese army – as a stabilising and liberating force. But people in the region remain sceptical […]
Horror ohne Grenze – Kann westlicher Druck dem Kongo Frieden bringen?
Der Horror für die Menschen im Osten des Kongo kennt keine Grenze. Kinder werden als Soldaten rekrutiert, Schüsse, Vergewaltigungen und Granateneinschläge gehören zum Alltag. «Wir behandeln etliche Zivilisten, die mit Schusswunden oder mit von Raketen und Granaten verursachten Verletzungen zu uns kommen», sagen Mitarbeiter der Organisation Ärzte ohne Grenzen. Hungrig, durstig und völlig mittellos erreichen […]
A Goma, le retrait des rebelles ne résout pas la crise
Dans les rues de Goma, des policiers règlent désormais la circulation à grands coups de sifflet. Ce sifflet est leur seule arme visible, mais la «police de roulage» est l'une des premières manifestations du retour des autorités loyalistes de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) dans la ville de l'est du pays, depuis le départ, […]
Congo: Le retour de la terreur
Les préparatifs battent leur plein du côté du Palais du peuple et du stade des martyrs de Kinshasa. Dans quelques jours, du 13 au 14 octobre, la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) accueillera la XIVe édition du Sommet de la francophonie. Le grand raout, qui réunira des dirigeants du monde entier – dont le president […]
DRC bishop in powerful US plea
US lawmakers on Wednesday heard a powerful plea to stop a brutal wave of rapes and killings by rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid claims six million people have died in years of war. “Congress, in your hands you have the salvation of all Congolese people,” Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda, bishop of the United […]
Congo-Kinshasa: Examining the Role of Rwanda in the DRC Insurgency
Examining the Role of Rwanda in the DRC Insurgency House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights Testimony: Jason K. Stearns, Director, Usalama Project, Rift Valley Institute Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, and Members of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights: Thank you for the invitation to […]
Rwanda: Of What Use Are International Monitors?
Many Rwandans would have been interested in a recent online debate hosted by the Oxford Transitional Justice Research at the University of Oxford, UK, under the motion "international monitors, such as the UN Group of Experts or human rights groups, are essential for reporting on mass conflict." It pitted Jason K. Stearns for the motion, […]
UN’s elite force raises the stakes in DRC
An elite UN brigade tasked with "neutralising" armed groups in the DRC has raised the stakes of the peacekeeping mission in the troubled country, and some observers fear the radical step could backfire. The Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) established within MONUSCO – the UN's 17,000-strong peacekeeping mission in the DRC – was authorised by resolution […]
L’invité 04/09/2012: Jason Stearns, Directeur du projet Ousalama
Dans cet entretien, Jason Stearns directeur du projet Ousalama, qui travaille sur les groupes armés dans l’Est de la RDC, analyse les récents développements dans les relations entre la RDC et son voisin le Rwanda. Malgré le climat tendu, il pense qu’il est peut probable que les deux pays en viennent à un conflit armé […]
DRC: Who are the Raïa Mutomboki?
After a period of relative calm, fighting has erupted once more around the town of Bunyakiri in South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Reports from the area suggest that in early June, members of two armed groups burned down villages of their opposing constituencies following a dispute. In the subsequent days, […]