The DRC News Monitor is 1 year old!

News Monitor #26
14 May 2026

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One year anniversary of the DRC News Monitor and request to our readers

Dear readers,

On May 15 2025, PAEMA sent out its first ever DRC News Monitor. One year in, the DRC News Monitor has published 25 bi-weekly editions plus two special reports and is read by hundreds of subscribers. We launched this project with one goal in mind: to provide accessible, regular, and timely reporting and analysis of political and security developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a wide audience.

As we look to the News Monitor’s future, we're asking for your support in two concrete ways. First, we'd be grateful if you could take 5 minutes to complete a brief survey to help us understand what's working and how we can improve. The survey also includes an optional space for you to share how the Monitor has been valuable to you—your testimonies will help us demonstrate this work's impact as we seek new funding.

Second, as the initial grant that funded the News Monitor has now run its course. We are committed to keeping the service free so we are actively seeking funding to keep this work going—whether through donations of any size, partnerships with foundations and institutional funders, or other creative arrangements. If you are interested in a partnership, if you know of funding opportunities, or if you’d like to make an introduction, we’d love to hear from you. Securing funding will allow us to sustain the work of the News Monitor, while keeping it free to the public.

Thank you for your feedback and continued support of the DRC News Monitor.

Sincerely,
The DRC PAEMA team

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DRC News Round-Up

On April 30th, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on former DRC President Joseph Kabila for "materially assisting" M23. OFAC said Kabila — who has been living in M23-controlled Goma since 2025 — "provided financial support to the AFC," "encouraged FARDC troops to defect," and "sought to launch attacks from outside DRC on FARDC". The State Department issued a parallel statement. Kinshasa welcomed the move as "a significant step against impunity," while Kabila, in a statement, denounced the sanctions as "profoundly unjustified, politically motivated, and based on unsubstantiated accusations." Thousands of pro-government supporters marched in Kinshasa on May 4th in support of the sanctions.
Over the weekend of May 9–11, the AFC/M23 withdrew from several key positions in South Kivu's Ruzizi plain. A Congolese army spokesperson told Reuters the move followed both military pressure from FARDC and diplomatic pressure from Washington. It marks the first significant frontline shift in months.
President Félix Tshisekedi publicly opened the door to a constitutional revision and a possible third term during a press conference on May 6th in Kinshasa, saying he had "not asked for a third term" but would "accept" if "the people" requested it. The remarks triggered immediate pushback from opposition figures who accused Tshisekedi of preparing a "constitutional coup". On May 10th, the President attended a service at the Église Pentecôtiste des Secouristes alongside Archbishop Ejiba Yamapia, who openly endorsed constitutional reform, deepening a split within the Revival Church.
Journalists for The Economist met with M23 in Goma, and reported that the group is offering a deal to the Trump administration for access to rare earths and 3T minerals (tin, tungsten, tantalum) under its control.
At least 69 people were killed in retaliatory attacks by CODECO militants on several Ituri villages on April 28th, following an earlier offensive by Thomas Lubanga's CRP against FARDC positions near Pimbo. Civil society leader Dieudonne Losa told AFP that the toll likely exceeds 70, with a humanitarian source describing bodies "strewn on the ground" near Bassa village. MONUSCO rescued nearly 200 people from an earlier CRP attack and condemned the wave of killings.

DRC UPDATES

ARMED CONFLICT AND HUMAN RIGHTS

South Kivu

Over the weekend of May 9–11, the AFC/M23 withdrew from several key positions in the Ruzizi plain and parts of the highlands, pulling back from Kabunambo, Mulenge, Mahungumbwe, Shongo, Sange, Nyakabere, Luberizi, and Bwerega, with FARDC reportedly redeploying into the vacated positions shortly afterward. A Congolese army spokesperson told Reuters the move followed both military pressure from government forces and diplomatic pressure from Washington.
On April 28th, M23 clashed with Wazalendo in the Bugorhe groupement north of the Kavumu airport (Kabare, South Kivu), with further fighting reported in Mudaka groupement on May 2nd.
Intense fighting continued in the Ziralo groupement of northern Kalehe throughout the period. M23 attacked Wazalendo positions on May 1-2nd and reportedly captured the village of Tushunguti on May 3rd, before Wazalendo counterattacks on May 5-6th. The FARDC reportedly conducted drone strikes in Lumbishi targeting an alleged ground-to-air defense system.
Pro-government forces continued drone strikes around Minembwe (Fizi highlands) in late April and early May. Kivu Morning Post reported FARDC drone attacks on Kakenge and two other villages near Minembwe on May 4-5th.
On May 6th, new fighting erupted in Kigurwe, 7 kilometers from Sange in the Ruzizi plain (Uvira territory), opposing M23 and Wazalendo. Wazalendo announced an offensive against M23 positions, while residents reported the M23 retained control.

Ituri

On April 28th, Thomas Lubanga's CRP militia attacked FARDC positions near Pimbo (Djugu territory), prompting massive retaliatory attacks by CODECO militants — who claim to defend the Lendu community — on several villages, killing at least 69 people. According to civil society sources, the toll may exceed 70. The Hema community organization, Ente, called the massacre a tragedy and urged restraint. MONUSCO said it had rescued nearly 200 civilians caught under fire and "strongly condemned" the wave of killings, while strengthening its protective presence in Djugu and Irumu in early May.
ADF rebels continued attacks against civilians in Mambasa territory (Ituri province) and Beni territory (North Kivu province), killing over 60 civilians since April 29th as per ACLED data.

North Kivu

M23 and Wazalendo fighters clashed in southern Masisi territory throughout the period. Heavy fighting was reported in Remeka and Katuunda villages (Ufamandu groupement) on May 5th, before Wazalendo reportedly repelled M23 on May 6th. M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka accused FARDC of drone strikes in Kalenga (May 7th) and Mushaki (May 8th).
M23 announced on April 30th that it had completed ideological training for over 500 new political-administrative cadres at its training center in Rutshuru, with another 416 announced on May 7th — the third such graduation cohort in less than three weeks, signaling continued parallel state-building efforts in M23-held areas.

DISPLACEMENT AND HUMANITARIAN

In a positive development, ICRC aid convoys reached Minembwe on April 30th — the first humanitarian access of significance, following negotiations during the April Switzerland talks.
The voluntary repatriation of Congolese refugees from Burundi's Busuma camp, launched on April 23rd (see Monitor #25), continued throughout the period. SOS Médias Burundi reports on May 5th the case of ~120 Congolese asylum seekers at the Musenyi site whose claims were rejected and who now face transfer back to transit centers in Cishemere and Makombe, raising new concerns about administrative limbo.

PEACE PROCESSES

Both deadlines from the April 17th Montreux MoUs between Kinshasa and M23 have passed without implementation: the prisoner exchange and the operationalization of the Ceasefire Oversight and Verification Mechanism. M23 says it is ready to proceed; the Congolese government, according to RFI sources, has not given the ICRC the "explicit agreement" required to facilitate the transfers. Africa Intelligence reported on May 4th that Qatar has requested that future negotiations move permanently to Switzerland, with the next round expected in May or June.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, AFC leader Corneille Nangaa accused Washington of failing to pressure Kinshasa over alleged peace commitment violations. The letter, signed by the AFC, criticizes U.S. sanctions against "actors critical of the authorities in power" — a reference to the Kabila sanctions — and warns that "the absence of clearly identifiable corrective measures fuels questions regarding the facilitation's ability to preserve, over time, the requirements of impartiality and neutrality."
At the Africa Forward Summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said neither France nor the EU were considering adopting sanctions against Rwanda at this stage, saying that doing so would diminish the chances of Rwanda adopting a cooperative approach, and that Paris favored continued dialogue over punitive measures.

ANALYSIS, REPORTING, ADVOCACY

Human Rights Watch released a report documenting M23 abuses in the eastern DRC city of Uvira, including killings rape and abductions.
A new report published by Amnesty International looks into ADF activism, saying the group’s exactions are amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity and argues that international focus on M23 has allowed ADF to expand largely unchecked.
A new Human Rights Watch report documents the growing repression of journalists, opposition members and activists by Congolese authorities, especially within the context of the constitutional revision debate.

BUSINESS AND MINERALS

APRI (Africa Policy Research Institute) released the third episode of its podcast series The Africa Hour on May 7th, examining why the DRC, despite holding most of the world's cobalt, has yet to develop downstream battery manufacturing capabilities.
A subsidiary of a Chinese state enterprise, China Railway Group Ltd. (CREC), held formal discussions with Louis Watum, DRC's Mines Minister, about a proposed copper mine in Kasai-Oriental province. Structured as a joint venture between the CREC subsidiary and MIBA, the DRC's state-owned diamond company, has initial production estimates of between 200,000 and 500,000 tonnes of copper per year. With Katanga province being the location of most of DRC's copper mines, this project would be a significant departure from traditional production and puts Kasai-Oriental on the map as the historically centered diamond producing province could be home to the world's newest and largest copper mine.

GREAT LAKES

Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni co-chaired the 9th session of the DRC-Uganda Joint Permanent Commission in Kampala from May 8th to 11th, leading to the signing of six MoUs on cross-border security and economic cooperation.
Congolese Defense Minister Guy Kabombo traveled to Bangui on May 10th to meet his Central African counterpart Claude Rameaux Bireau, signing an agreement on military cooperation to address insecurity at the DRC-CAR border, including the presence of LRA, Mbororo, and other armed elements.
In an interview with Jeune Afrique/The Africa Report, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of harboring “malicious intentions towards Burundi” and defended his country’s troop deployment in support of Kinshasa.
At the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi on May 11-12, President Tshisekedi’s unwillingness to meet with President Ruto highlights the strained relationship between Kinshasa and Nairobi, which first sourced when the former accused the latter of partiality during the now-sidelined Nairobi peace process.

U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY

On May 7th, Maryland Democratic Rep. Johnny Olszewski introduced the "STABLE DRC Act" (H.R. 8704), which would authorize the President to sanction "any foreign person that violates or knowingly undermines the Washington Accords." The bill, which is currently before the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees, has no cosponsors at this stage.
In an opinion piece published in Common Dreams on May 10th, John Prendergast and Sasha Lezhnev called on the NBA to reconsider its commercial partnership with Rwanda — including jersey patches and Basketball Africa League sponsorships — in light of recent U.S. sanctions on Rwandan army officials. The piece is the latest in a string of calls for the league to reassess its 'Visit Rwanda' deal.

If there is anything specifically you would like to see from this newsletter or if you have any feedback, we would love to hear from you. Please write to us at drcnews@paema.ngo or leave a comment through this anonymous form.

Version francophone

Premier anniversaire du DRC News Monitor et appel aux lecteurs

Chers lecteurs,

Le 15 mai 2025, PAEMA a publié son tout premier DRC News Monitor. Un an plus tard, le DRC News Monitor a publié 25 éditions bimensuelles ainsi que deux rapports spéciaux, et est lu par des centaines d'abonnés. Nous avons lancé ce projet avec un seul objectif : fournir un compte rendu régulier, accessible et actualisé des développements politiques et sécuritaires en République démocratique du Congo à un large public.

Alors que nous réfléchissons à l'avenir du News Monitor, nous sollicitons votre soutien de deux manières concrètes. Premièrement, nous vous serions reconnaissants de bien vouloir prendre 5 minutes pour répondre à un court sondage afin de nous aider à comprendre ce qui fonctionne et comment nous pouvons nous améliorer. Le sondage comprend également un espace optionnel pour partager la manière dont le Monitor vous a été utile — vos témoignages nous aideront à démontrer l'impact de ce travail dans notre recherche de nouveaux financements.

Deuxièmement, la subvention initiale qui finançait le News Monitor est arrivée à terme. Nous sommes déterminés à maintenir le service gratuit et recherchons activement des financements pour poursuivre ce travail — que ce soit par des dons de toute taille, des partenariats avec des fondations et des bailleurs institutionnels, ou d'autres arrangements. Si vous êtes intéressé par un partenariat, si vous avez connaissance d'opportunités de financement, ou si vous souhaitez nous mettre en relation, nous serions ravis d'en discuter. Obtenir des financements nous permettra de pérenniser le travail du News Monitor tout en le maintenant gratuit et accessible à tous.

Merci pour vos retours et votre soutien.

Cordialement, L'équipe PAEMA RDC

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En bref

Le 30 avril, le Bureau de contrôle des avoirs étrangers (OFAC) du Département du Trésor américain a imposé des sanctions à l'ancien président de la RDC Joseph Kabila pour avoir « apporté une aide matérielle » au M23. L'OFAC a déclaré que Kabila — qui vit à Goma, sous contrôle du M23, depuis 2025 — « a fourni un soutien financier à l'AFC », « a encouragé des soldats des FARDC à déserter » et « a cherché à lancer des attaques depuis l'extérieur de la RDC contre les FARDC ». Le Département d'État a publié une déclaration parallèle. Kinshasa a salué la décision comme « une étape importante contre l'impunité », tandis que Kabila, dans un communiqué, a dénoncé les sanctions comme « profondément injustifiées, politiquement motivées et fondées sur des accusations sans fondement ». Des milliers de partisans du gouvernement ont défilé à Kinshasa le 4 mai en soutien aux sanctions.
Au cours du week-end du 9 au 11 mai, l'AFC/M23 s'est retirée de plusieurs positions clés dans la plaine de la Ruzizi au Sud-Kivu. Un porte-parole de l'armée congolaise a déclaré à Reuters que ce mouvement faisait suite à la fois à des pressions militaires des FARDC et à des pressions diplomatiques de Washington. Il s'agit du premier déplacement significatif de la ligne de front depuis plusieurs mois.
Le président Félix Tshisekedi a publiquement ouvert la porte à une révision constitutionnelle et à un éventuel troisième mandat lors d'une conférence de presse le 6 mai à Kinshasa, déclarant qu'il n'avait « pas demandé un troisième mandat » mais qu'il « accepterait » si « le peuple » le demandait. Ces propos ont suscité une réaction immédiate de la part de figures de l'opposition qui ont accusé Tshisekedi de préparer un « coup constitutionnel ». Le 10 mai, le président a assisté à un office à l'Église Pentecôtiste des Secouristes aux côtés de l'archevêque Ejiba Yamapia, qui a ouvertement soutenu la réforme constitutionnelle, approfondissant ainsi une fracture au sein de l'Église du Réveil.
Des journalistes de The Economist ont rencontré le M23 à Goma et ont rapporté que le groupe propose un accord à l'administration Trump pour l'accès aux terres rares et aux minerais 3T (étain, tungstène, tantale) sous son contrôle.
Au moins 69 personnes ont été tuées lors d'attaques de représailles menées par des militants CODECO contre plusieurs villages d'Ituri le 28 avril, à la suite d'une offensive de la milice CRP de Thomas Lubanga contre des positions des FARDC près de Pimbo. Le chef de la société civile Dieudonné Losa a déclaré à l'AFP que le bilan dépassait probablement 70 victimes, une source humanitaire décrivant des corps « éparpillés sur le sol » près du village de Bassa. La MONUSCO a secouru près de 200 personnes lors d'une précédente attaque de la CRP et a condamné cette vague de violences.

ACTUALITÉS

CONFLITS ARMÉS ET DROITS HUMAINS

Sud-Kivu

Au cours du week-end du 9 au 11 mai, l'AFC/M23 s'est retirée de plusieurs positions clés dans la plaine de la Ruzizi et dans certaines parties des hauts plateaux, se retirant de Kabunambo, Mulenge, Mahungumbwe, Shongo, Sange, Nyakabere, Luberizi et Bwerega, les FARDC se redéployant peu après dans les positions évacuées. Un porte-parole de l'armée congolaise a indiqué à Reuters que ce mouvement faisait suite à des pressions militaires des forces gouvernementales et à des pressions diplomatiques de Washington.
Le 28 avril, le M23 s'est affronté aux Wazalendo dans le groupement de Bugorhe au nord de l'aéroport de Kavumu (Kabare, Sud-Kivu), avec de nouveaux combats signalés dans le groupement de Mudaka le 2 mai.
De violents combats ont continué dans le groupement de Ziralo, dans le nord du Kalehe, tout au long de la période. Le M23 a attaqué les positions des Wazalendo les 1er et 2 mai et aurait capturé le village de Tushunguti le 3 mai, avant des contre-attaques des Wazalendo les 5 et 6 mai. Les FARDC auraient conduit des frappes de drones à Lumbishi, ciblant un système de défense sol-air présumé.
Les forces pro-gouvernementales ont poursuivi leurs frappes de drones autour de Minembwe (hauts plateaux de Fizi) fin avril et début mai. Kivu Morning Post a rapporté des frappes de drones des FARDC sur Kakenge et deux autres villages près de Minembwe les 4 et 5 mai.
Le 6 mai, de nouveaux combats ont éclaté à Kigurwe, à 7 kilomètres de Sange dans la plaine de la Ruzizi (territoire d'Uvira), opposant le M23 aux Wazalendo. Les Wazalendo ont annoncé une offensive contre les positions du M23, tandis que des résidents rapportaient que le M23 maintenait son contrôle.

Nord-Kivu

Des combattants du M23 et des Wazalendo se sont affrontés dans le sud du territoire de Masisi tout au long de la période. De violents combats ont été signalés dans les villages de Remeka et Katuunda (groupement d'Ufamandu) le 5 mai, avant que les Wazalendo ne repoussent apparemment le M23 le 6 mai. Le porte-parole du M23, Lawrence Kanyuka, a accusé les FARDC de frappes de drones à Kalenga (7 mai) et à Mushaki (8 mai).
Le M23 a annoncé le 30 avril avoir achevé une formation idéologique pour plus de 500 nouveaux cadres politico-administratifs dans son centre de formation à Rutshuru, avec 416 nouveaux cadres annoncés le 7 mai — la troisième promotion de ce type en moins de trois semaines, témoignant de la poursuite des efforts de construction d'un État parallèle dans les zones tenues par le M23.