Les forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo ont repris le contrôle des localités de Masisi et Rutshuru, dans la province du Nord-Kivu, qui étaient occupées depuis quelques jours par des soldats mutins loyals au général Bosco Ntaganda.

The Congolese army has regained control of the areas of Masisi and Rutshuru, in North Kivu province, which were occupied last week by mutinous soldiers loyal to renegade general Bosco Ntaganda. DR Congo’s Army Chief of Staff, General Didier Etumba, said in a press release on Sunday that military operations against the “undisciplined” soldiers have been suspended.

Contrary to wire reports widely circulated in the international media, President Joseph Kabila did not call for the immediate arrest of renegade General Bosco Ntaganda during a meeting with civil society leaders in North Kivu Province on Wednesday.

President Joseph Kabila held a two-hour meeting with army officers based in North and South Kivu provinces on Tuesday to insist on military discipline and cohesion.

President Joseph Kabila and the Congolese Army Chief of Staff, General Didier Etumba, arrived in Goma on Monday to deal with the security threat posed by the defections of former rebels integrated in the army under a peace deal.

The Congolese government said on Thursday that “irregular troop movements” have been observed in North and South Kivu Provinces since last weekend. The troop movements are believed to be a show of force by General Ntaganda amid renewed calls for his arrest after his former boss in the FPLC, Thomas Lubanga, was convicted by the ICC on March 14

With only 6 weeks left before presidential and parliamentary elections, President Kabila, at a wide-ranging news conference on Tuesday, said that he is confident he will win re-election in November. “I know one thing for sure, I will not lose,” Mr. Kabila replied when asked if he thinks there is a candidate who could beat him.

The United Nations Security Council imposed targeted measures including travel bans and asset freezes on four Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) leaders and a former Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) commander integrated in the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), on Wednesday, at the request of the permanent missions to the United Nations of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Un rapport du groupe d’experts chargés du suivi des sanctions des Nations Unies contre la République démocratique du Congo a mis en cause d’anciens soldats du CNDP, qui font maintenant partie des Forces armées congolaises (FARDC), dans l’exploitation illégale des ressources minières dans l’est du Congo. Le CNDP a été intégré au sein des FARDC (du moins officiellement), suite à un accord de paix signé en 2009 et un rapprochement entre les gouvernements congolais et rwandais. Le rapport indique que “des unités des FARDC issues de l’ex-Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) ont pris le contrôle militaire de la plupart [...]

A report by a group of experts monitoring UN sanctions on the Democratic Republic of Congo has implicated former CNDP soldiers, now part of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), in the illegal exploitation of mineral resources in eastern Congo.