Democratic Republic of Congo

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Congo votes for president as conflict and smudged ballots lead to fears election won’t be credible

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo headed to the polls Wednesday in a presidential election facing steep logistical and security challenges, with voting delayed by nearly seven hours in parts of the capital.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-election-president-e23f45d40e2a28a5da85f0185e3e5425?

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Congo is facing an unprecedented crisis Escalating violence in Congo’s eastern region has displaced at least 250,000 people in the past month, a senior United Nations official said Wednesday, describing the situation as an unprecedented crisis. Read more.

Recent developments: Eastern Congo has long been overrun by over 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings. The result is one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with about 7 million people displaced, many of them beyond the reach of aid.   Amid intensified fighting with security forces, the M23 rebel group — the most dominant in the region, with alleged links to neighboring Rwanda — has continued to attack villages. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has blamed Rwanda for providing military support to the rebels, a claim Rwanda denies. U.N. experts have said there is substantial evidence of Rwandan forces in Congo.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ UN hands over 1st military base in Congo to begin its drawdown after decades in the country   What’s happening in eastern Congo   As Congo seeks to expand drilling, some communities worry pollution will worsen

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Congolese army says it has foiled a coup attempt. Self-exiled opposition figure threatens president

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s army said it foiled a coup attempt early Sunday and arrested the perpetrators, including several foreigners, following attacks on the presidential palace and the residence of a close ally of Congo’s president that left three people dead in the capital, Kinshasa.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-kinshasa-gunfire-1a148e35f0cbbae14b2101413f788708?

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Congo names third American in a foiled coup plot as mourners gather in Utah to remember plot leader

Congo’s army spokesman on Tuesday released the name of the third American involved a foiled coup plot in Kinshasa, while family members in Utah gathered to mourn Christian Malanga, the eccentric leader of the brazen and ill-fated attack targeting the presidential palace over the weekend.

https://apnews.com/article/foiled-coup-congo-utah-3fb503aca4037c482c6bc5719d0831e1?

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Congo has reported more than 1,000 new mpox cases in a week African health authorities asked for desperately needed vaccines to help fight its “growing” threat on the continent, following the World Health Organization declaring the outbreaks in the continent a global emergency. Read more.

Why this matters: Some hope the WHO's declaration will encourage donors to share vaccines and other help to curtail the outbreaks in Africa before cases spread internationally as Sweden recorded a case of the new mpox variant first seen in eastern Congo. The WHO has previously said its past efforts to raise donations for mpox failed to elicit even a single donor dollar.   Africa CDC’s Kaseya said that his organization had received a pledge of 215,000 mpox vaccines from the European Union and the vaccine maker, Bavarian Nordic, which were due to arrive in the next few days. The United States’ aid agency said it had donated 50,000 other doses of the same vaccine to Congo. Japan has also donated some doses to Congo. But Africa likely needs much more.   A 2022 global mpox outbreak in more than 70 countries was shut down in the space of months with vaccines and treatments made available in rich nations, but hardly any doses reached Africa. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa criticized the global response to the 2022 outbreak for its unfairness, evoking memories of Africa’s anger at largely being shut out of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related coverage ➤ Congo’s humanitarian crisis helped mpox spiral again into a global health emergency Will receive first mpox vaccines next week, Congo says

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Congo court sentences 3 Americans and 34 others to death on coup charges

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military court in Congo handed down death sentences Friday to 37 people, including three Americans, after convicting them on charges of participating in a coup attempt.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-verdict-trial-coup-americans-93ca1f26b27b0a45f239db12a3b1e1d5?

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A gold mining town in Congo has become an mpox hot spot as a new strain spreads

KAMITUGA, Congo (AP) — Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter’s grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatized to attend the funeral.

https://apnews.com/article/mpox-new-strain-outbreak-kamituga-eastern-congo-f9affb7a7d73c8c30daf296c51c920c7?

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Health officials investigate mystery disease in southwest Congo after 143 deaths

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A flu-like disease that has killed dozens of people over two weeks is being investigated in southwestern Congo, local authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-unknown-disease-kwango-11c96d7073ae4a0bc8ef9b2575f8d226?

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Congo will execute more than 170 people convicted of armed robbery, official says

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — More than 170 inmates on death row were flown from Congo’s capital to a high-security prison in the north where they will be executed, Congolese authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-executes-kulunas-bandits-dc460aa0fc69489f2c1005b33796e0c9?

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A rebel group is advancing on eastern Congo’s largest city and over 100,000 people have fled

NZULO, Congo (AP) — The M23 rebel group’s advance toward eastern Congo’s largest city has displaced over 178,000 people in the past two weeks, the United Nations said, as the fighters closed in on Goma on the border with Rwanda.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-rebels-m23-displaced-conflict-bdd3579ee7852722a2dbc5aa37c75d62?

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Here’s what is happening in eastern Congo, where rebels claim they captured a key city Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday they captured eastern Congo’s strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped. It marks a sharp escalation in one of Africa’s longest wars, threatening to worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis dramatically. Read more.

Key points: The M23 group is one of the hundreds of armed factions vying for a foothold in eastern Congo. Between 1996 and 2003, the region was at the heart of a protracted conflict dubbed “Africa’s world war,” as armed groups fought over access to metals and rare earth minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, and gold. And as the world relies more than ever on Congo’s metals and rare earth minerals to produce electronics, the stakes have risen.   The conflict can be traced to the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, where Hutu militias killed between 500,000 and 1 million ethnic Tutsi. When Tutsi-led forces fought back, nearly 2 million Hutus crossed into Congo, fearing reprisals. Tensions between Hutus and Tutsis have repeatedly flared in Congo since then.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Congo’s forces try to slow Rwanda-backed rebels in the east as protests break out in the capital   Killed for fighting corruption, a Congolese man made a martyr is inspiring a new generation   International peacekeepers killed as fighting rages around eastern Congo’s key city

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Congo says 773 dead in weeklong fighting as military tries to repel Rwanda-backed rebels

GOMA, Congo (AP) — At least 773 people were killed in eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma and its vicinity this week amid fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels who captured the city in a major escalation of a decadelong conflict, Congolese authorities said Saturday. The rebels’ advance into other areas was slowed by a weakened military that recovered some villages from them.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-goma-m23-bukavu-goma-rwanda-db52015e9e947c6c4a0154a03b1bbca9?

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The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a major Congo city declare a unilateral ceasefire

GOMA, Congo (AP) — The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized eastern Congo’s key city of Goma announced a unilateral ceasefire in the region Monday for humanitarian reasons, following calls for a safe corridor for aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-goma-fighting-death-toll-900-debe16315e7b87b0647ce9b173dfae86?

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Congo calls rebels’ ceasefire declaration ‘false communication’ as reports of fighting continue

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s government on Tuesday described the unilateral ceasefire declared by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo as “false communication,” while the United Nations noted reports of heavy fighting with Congolese forces in the region.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-rebels-goma-m23-rwanda-ceasefire-24470048e1382a787131ce81d1ee7c5a?

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Fighting in eastern Congo could widen into a regional war, analysts warn The deadly march by Rwanda-backed rebels across eastern Congo could widen into a regional conflict drawing in even more countries, analysts warn. Two neighboring nations with the most involvement in the mineral-rich area might be the key to stopping the violence. Read more.

Key points: Congolese authorities see the M23 rebels as a Rwandan proxy army driven to illegally exploit eastern Congo’s vast mineral resources, whose value is estimated in the trillions of dollars. The rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from Rwanda, according to evidence collected by United Nations experts.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ What’s ahead for a 50-year-old West African bloc after 3 junta-led countries left the group?

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Armed fighters have raped scores of children in eastern Congo, UNICEF says

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The U.N. children’s fund on Thursday accused armed men, likely on both sides of the conflict in eastern Congo, of raping scores of children over the past weeks as rebels expand their footprint and push government forces out.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-children-rape-m23-congo-amry-66e7fc667ca022a02a3f37bf18f80776?

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An unknown illness kills over 50 people in part of Congo with hours between symptoms and death An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday. The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases. Read more.

What to know: The latest disease outbreak in Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded, including 53 deaths. According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.   There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are popularly eaten. The number of such outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 60% in the past decade, the WHO said in 2022.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Fighting in Sudan forces Doctors Without Borders to stop aid at a camp with 500,000 people   FDA moves to rehire medical device, food safety and other staffers fired days earlier   Book Review: ‘Air-borne’ transforms scientific history into detective story

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Congo’s leader commutes death sentences of 3 Americans convicted in failed coup plot

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has commuted the death sentences of three Americans convicted on charges of participating in a botched coup attempt in the country’s capital Kinshasa last year, an official said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-death-penalty-americans-coup-2269008640a310e05c7ff7a3b541374e?

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Bonobos in Congo form girl groups to fend off male aggression, study says

Scientists have long wondered why bonobos live in generally female-dominated societies since the males are physically bigger and stronger. Decades of observations in Congo show female bonobos work together to kick male bonobos out of trees and establish their dominance. Read More.

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Islamic State-backed rebels killed at least 52 people in eastern Congo, UN says

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Attacks blamed on an Islamic State-backed rebel group in eastern Congo killed at least 52 people this month, the U.N. peacekeeping mission to the central African country said Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-adf-rebels-attack-monusco-2a628a8c4ed02617d8a541185aba732f?

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Ebola cases in Congo rise as authorities race to contain spread of outbreak, health agency says

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The number of suspected Ebola cases in Congo’s southern Kasai province have more than doubled in a week since a new outbreak was confirmed there, Africa’s top public health agency said Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-ebola-kasai-outbreak-b4dfd340373d2f5e4ce2ce40b1eba6e0?

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What to know about new Ebola outbreak that has killed 65 people in Congo

Africa’s top public health body has confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s Ituri province, the 17th since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976. A total of 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths have already been recorded in the new outbreak, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Friday. Read more.   Deadly Virus Resurges Africa's top public health officials yesterday confirmed an Ebola outbreak in a northeastern province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths have been reported, with four deaths definitely linked to Ebola via lab testing. This marks the Congo's 17th recorded outbreak since Ebola was first identified in 1976 in Africa (see outbreak map). Believed to be naturally hosted by fruit bats, Ebola can cause severe gastrointestinal distress and unexplained bleeding. The virus spreads between humans through direct contact with bodily fluids, and past outbreaks have carried fatality rates ranging from 25% to 90%. Go deeper with this video explainer. Initial tests indicate the strain currently in the Congo does not belong to the Zaire species, the only one of four with a licensed vaccine. Officials say early detection, contact tracing, and isolation will be crucial. However, contact tracing may prove challenging, as people frequently cross into Uganda and South Sudan for mining work and to flee violence from insurgent groups (see conflict 101).

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Ebola outbreak

An international effort is underway to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda that has infected hundreds and caused at least 80 suspected deaths. The CDC is also working to relocate a "small number of Americans" who were reportedly affected. Read more.

WATCH: Could rare strain of Ebola spread worldwide?

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Congo opens more centers to treat rare type of Ebola that has killed nearly 120

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo will open three Ebola treatment centers in the eastern Ituri province, and the World Health Organization is sending a team of experts to the country, following an outbreak of a rare type of the virus that has killed nearly 120 people.

https://apnews.com/article/congo-ebola-305bf410419bdb1311020b72111c12e7?

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‘Every health facility said they were full’: alarm over rapid spread of Ebola in DRC

The warnings from aid groups and healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been stark, their calls for coordinated international action impassioned.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/23/ebola-virus-spread-drc-democratic-republic-of-congo