Podcasts about North Kivu

The Jordan Harbinger Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025 3:05

Gaza's health system nears collapse as UNRWA issues urgent alarm Gaza's healthcare is on the brink, warns the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The agency says one-third of vital medical supplies are gone, with another third vanishing fast—blaming Israel's siege and relentless bombardment. Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini grimly cautions that the blockade risks silently killing more women and children beyond the bombs. Israel's military invasion in Gaza has killed over fifty-two thousand four hundred Palestinians since October 2023, while Tel Aviv faces genocide charges at the International Court of Justice. Yemeni Houthis target Tel Aviv airport with hypersonic missile strike Yemeni Houthis said they have launched a hypersonic ballistic missile targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, warning international airlines of the airport's unsafe conditions. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed the missile hit the target, and another struck Ashkelon. Israeli authorities suspended flights at the airport after a missile landed near Terminal 3, injuring six people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation against the Houthis and their Iranian backers. In response, US warplanes conducted airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen. Romania's presidential election heads to a second round Romania will proceed to a second round of presidential elections on May 18, following the failure of any candidate to secure the required 50+1 percent majority in the first round. Far-right George Simion led with over 40.2 percent of the vote, based on results from over 98 percent of ballots. He was followed by Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, who garnered 20.8 percent, and Crin Antonescu of the Social Democratic Party, who earned nearly 20.5 percent. The first-round victory of pro-Russian candidate Calin Gorgescu was annulled in November 2024 following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied. Simion emerged to replace Gorgescu after his ban from the new race. Fighting in eastern DRC escalates as rebels take key town M23 rebels and allies seized Lunyasenge, a strategic fishing town on Lake Edward's west coast in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, after deadly clashes with the army that left 17 dead, including seven soldiers. The Congolese military condemned the assault as a blatant ceasefire violation. As rebels advance in North Kivu, Kinshasa warns of retaliation. Rwanda faces renewed accusations of backing M23, amid ongoing peace talks in Doha and Washington. Kigali denies any involvement. Trump imposes full tariff on non-US movies President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a 100 percent tariff on foreign-made films, claiming Hollywood of being ""devastated"" as US filmmakers turn to other countries for production incentives. The decision, shared via Truth Social media platform, follows criticism of his aggressive trade policies. While the full impact on the movie industry remains unclear, Trump insists it's a matter of national security. Meanwhile, talks with China and other nations on trade deals continue, with potential agreements on the horizon.

1145: Rwanda 2025 | Out of the Loop

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2025 72:25

On this Out of the Loop, Nathan Paul Southern and Lindsey Kennedy explain the consumer decisions and corporate interests fueling conflict in Rwanda.Welcome to what we're calling our "Out of the Loop" episodes, where we dig a little deeper into fascinating current events that may only register as a blip on the media's news cycle and have conversations with the people who find themselves immersed in them. Investigative journalists Nathan Paul Southern and Lindsey Kennedy are here to help us understand why we're hearing a lot about Rwanda in recent news.Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1145On This Episode of Out of the Loop, We Discuss:The M23 militia has recently resurged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), taking over parts of North Kivu province and effectively controlling access to valuable mineral resources like cobalt, gold, and coltan — minerals critical for modern technology including electric vehicles and AI chips.There appears to be a connection between the UK's Rwanda refugee resettlement program (which sent hundreds of millions of pounds to Rwanda) and the reemergence of the M23, which had previously disappeared when international aid was threatened to be cut off. The timing suggests the UK money may have indirectly funded the militia.Rwanda is allegedly stealing minerals from the DRC, bringing them across the border, and claiming they were mined in Rwanda — creating the appearance of "conflict-free" minerals that major tech companies like Apple and Tesla can claim to use, even though they ultimately come from conflict zones.The conflict has become increasingly complicated with the involvement of private military contractors from various countries, Russian interests, and American billionaires like Elon Musk and Eric Prince potentially making deals to control mineral resources in the region.Understanding these complex global connections can empower us to make more ethical consumer choices. By researching which companies prioritize truly ethical sourcing and supporting organizations that monitor conflict minerals, we can use our purchasing power to encourage corporate responsibility and transparency in global supply chains for technologies we rely on daily.And much more!Connect with Jordan on Twitter, on Instagram, and on YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on an Out of the Loop episode, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Nathan Paul Southern on Twitter.Connect with Lindsey Kennedy at her website and on Twitter.And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/dealsSign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Three survivors of Alaskan plane crash rescued; Muslim militants kill 9 in Congo, Africa; King Charles hospitalized from cancer treatment side effects

The WorldView in 5 Minutes

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2025 7:54

It's Friday, March 28th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Muslim militants kill 9 in Congo, Africa Muslim militants from the Allied Democratic Forces, a terrorist group, launched a brutal assault in North Kivu, Congo, Africa on March 8th, killing at least nine people, reports International Christian Concern. The attack began at dawn, catching villagers by surprise. Armed with guns and machetes, the Muslims targeted the farming community, swiftly overpowering the residents. The assault, which included the destruction of homes, left dozens of families displaced, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis in the region. Eastern Congo remains plagued by violence, with more than 100 armed groups vying for control of the region's valuable resources. The innocent civilians continue to bear the heaviest cost. Despite repeated calls for action, the Congo government has been unable to protect its citizens from these frequent raids. According to Open Doors, Congo, Africa is the 35th most dangerous country worldwide for Christians. King Charles hospitalized from cancer treatment side effects Buckingham Palace has confirmed that King Charles III was taken to the hospital in a car yesterday after suffering predictable side effects from his cancer treatment, reports The U.S. Sun. He has had to cancel a string of engagements set for today in Birmingham, England. And he was unable to greet Ambassadors of three different nations yesterday. The King was at home at Clarence House last night where he was said to be in good form and continuing to work on State Papers and making calls from his study. (Look at the rooms inside Clarence House). On January 17, 2024, Buckingham Palace announced the King was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate. Then, on February 5th, the Palace revealed that the doctors discovered that he had cancer while operating on his prostate. Please pray for the full recovery of King Charles with minimal side effects. Trump affirmed two God-given genders, opposition to transgenderism President Donald Trump criticized gender ideology during a recent Women's History Month event held at the White House on March 25th. He reaffirmed the two genders created by God. TRUMP: “On Day One, I made the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female. Is there anybody that disagrees with that in this room? (laughter) I was thinking, maybe somebody from the press might raise their head. I don't think so. “For four long years, we had an administration that tried to abolish the very concept of womanhood and replace it with radical gender ideology. They destroyed women's spaces and even tried to replace the word ‘mother' with the term ‘birther person.' A mother became a ‘birther person.' “Under the Trump administration, we're ending the Marxist war on women, and we're protecting women's rights, defending women's dignity, and standing up for the American moms and daughters.” Trump also made a definitive statement about men who pretend to be women. TRUMP: “No matter how many surgeries you have or chemicals you inject, if you're born with male DNA in every cell of your body, you can never become a woman! You're not going to be a woman. (applause) And that's why, last month, I proudly signed a historic Executive Order to ban men from competing in women's sports. And it was very popular.” Trump withdraws Stefanik's nomination to be U.N. Ambassador President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, reports The Epoch Times. Trump announced the move on Truth Social on March 27th, citing the narrow majority that the GOP has in the House of Representatives. He wrote, “As we advance our America First Agenda, it is essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress. I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. With a very tight Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise's seat.” Trump said Stefanik will join his administration in the future. Manhattan's Planned Parenthood closes after years of pro-life prayer After years of monthly prayer processions, often led by a pro-life activist priest named Fidelis Moscinski, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York has announced it will be selling its SoHo building and shutting down its Manhattan abortion mill, reports LifeSiteNews.com. Wendy Stark, the New York abortion giant CEO, claimed the decision was made due to “the gap between inflation and stagnant (Medicaid/insurance) reimbursement rates.” Christian pro-lifers, like David who fought Goliath, know that you cannot continue to mock the living God and expect to be victorious. Psalm 34:16 says, “The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the Earth.” Three survivors of Alaskan plane crash rescued And finally, fearing the worst after a prop plane was reported overdue for landing in Alaska last Sunday, search and rescue volunteers searched for the pilot and two children of elementary and middle school ages who had been on a sightseeing tour, reports Good News Network. Dale Eicher was one of the locals who heard the call for help. EICHER: “I saw the Facebook post about the missing plane and decided to go look for it.” Providentially, that singular Facebook post about the missing father and kids had been re-shared 420 times. John Morris, the father of the missing pilot, told CNN affiliate, Alaska's News Source, that his son's cell phone sent its final ping at about 5:00 p.m. Sunday evening over Tustumena Lake. Within an hour of flying, Eicher saw them. EICHER: “They were walking across the lake when I flew over the plane.” The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser had crash landed on the frozen surface of Tustumena Lake. EICHER: “I was really shocked. I did expect that we would find them, but I didn't expect that we would find them alive, for sure. I've done a little bit of search and rescue before, and it doesn't always turn out this well.” The three survivors were taken to a Kenai Peninsula area hospital and treated for “non-life-threatening injuries.” When the reporter asked what motivated Dale Eicher to search for the missing plane, he said this. EICHER: “It's the right thing to do. I do volunteer with the Civil Air Patrol some. And I have my own plane.” Indeed, it was the right thing to do! After all, as Genesis 1:27 articulates, each of us, including those three plane crash survivors in Alaska, have been created in God's image and are worthy of rescuing. Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, March 28th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

An Interview with Dr Margaret Harris, World Heath Organisation

RABcasts: Industry leaders exploring global change

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 60:34

WHO Global SpokespersonEducate, Innovate, Protect Margaret Harris is an Australian-born public health doctor specialising in emergency risk communication during pandemics, outbreaks and other health emergencies. Dr Harris has spent much of her time working in risk communication for the World Health Organization and UNICEF, mostly in Asia, Africa and Europe, including during the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014-2016, the Korean MERS outbreak, the global Zika virus outbreak, the COVID-19 Pandemic. During 2017 she worked with a group of expert emergency risk communicators to search for evidence supporting principles of effective risk communications and wrote the first evidence-based guidance on emergency risk communication, published in January 2018. During 2019-early 2020, Dr Harris worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, managing communications for the Ebola response in North Kivu and Ituri, spending much of that time in active conflict zones. When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, Dr Harris was recalled to Geneva to act as WHO global spokesperson, her current role.

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EZ News 02/21/25

EZ News

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2025 6:45

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 39-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 23,526 on turnover of $3.6-billion N-T. Joseph Wu rebuts Trump chip theft claim National Security Council head Joseph Wu is rebutting claims by U-S President Donald Trump that Taiwan stole the semiconductor business from America. Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Taipei, Wu stressed that Taiwan "did not steal anything from anybody" .. …. and stressed that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing "started from scratch" with "some help from the international community." The statements come after Trump earlier this week announced that America could hit semiconductors with tariffs of around 25-per cent in the coming weeks. Wu told delegates at the forum that the government is continuing to assess the potential impact of such a move and will be prepared to adjust its economic structure if such a need arises. He warned that those bearing the cost of such tariffs will be U-S consumers, and he's sure eventually the Trump administration will reconsider (重新考慮) its decision." Taoyuan Airport MRT preparing for 200-millionth rider The Taoyuan Metro Corporation says it's preparing to celebrate its 200-millionth passenger trip earlier than expected. According to the Airport M-R-T operator, the milestone was originally projected for March, but due increased ridership during the on-going Lantern Festival, it's now expected to meet the number sometime this weekend. The lucky passenger who takes the 200-millionth trip will receive a one-year Greater Taipei commuter (通勤者) pass and a gifts worth 20,000 N-T. The five passengers before and after them will receive two-month commuter passes and special gifts. Israel: Returned Remains Not Missing Mother The Israeli military says the remains of two child hostages have been identified but another body released by Hamas was not the boys' mother. Hamas militants had turned over four bodies Thursday under the tenuous (脆弱的) ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war in 2023. The military said later the remains of Ariel and Kfir Bibas had been identified and the family notified. But the military said the additional body was not that of their mother Shiri Bibas nor any other hostage. It called the failure to return four hostages Thursday a violation of the utmost severity of the ceasefire agreement. UN Alarm on DRC Fighting The United Nations has once again sounded the alarm bells at the devastating impact of the continued fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some 35 thousand people have fled the east of the DRC to Burundi since the beginning of February. Rwanda-backed M-23 fighters continue to advance (前進) across both South and North Kivu. Jody Jacobs has an update from the United Nations Headquarters in New York… Argentina Drops Some Charges in Payne Death Case A court in Argentina has dropped charges of criminal negligence against three of the five people indicted in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer who fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last October. In its decision, obtained (獲得) by The Associated Press on Thursday, the Argentine federal appeals court ordered the other two defendants in the case to remain in custody. They are facing prosecution on charges they supplied the famed British boyband star with narcotics. The charge of negligent homicide carries a sentence of one to five years in prison in Argentina. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Southern and East African leaders meet in Dar es Salaam to discuss security situation in Eastern DRC

The Weekend View

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2025 6:06

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be among SADC leaders who are due to meet in Tanzania TODAY in a special joint summit with East African heads of state to address the Democtratic Republic of Congo crisis. Bitter rivals DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame are both expected to attend. The summit comes as Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered his military to begin preparing to withdraw from their mission in the volatile eastern DRC. Malawian and Tanzanian troops were among the 20 who died alongside 14 from South Africa when they were attacked by M23 rebels 2 weeks ago in eastern DRC. Since their capture of Goma in North Kivu province, M23 rebels have been seeking to seize territories in South Kivu, especially the capital Bukavu. Bongiwe Zwane SABC correspondent, Isaac Lukando in Tanzania's capital Dar es Salaam

M23 rebels overrun another DRC town despite ceasefire declaration - February 06, 2025

congo declaration rebels associated press democratic republic ceasefire drc goma voa overrun m23 bukavu north kivu

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 3:14

The M23 rebels who seized the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma last week are said to be gaining new ground despite their declaration of a unilateral ceasefire. The Associated Press cites officials and residents in eastern DRC who say that the M23 Wednesday took control of a mining town between occupied Goma and another provincial city, Bukavu. Reporter Al Katanty Sabiti Djaffar in Goma tells VOA's James Butty, the M23 has also appointed a governor for North Kivu province and called for a general meeting Thursday

Can Diplomacy Stop Rwandan-backed Rebels in the Eastern DRC?

Hold Your Fire!

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2025 49:15

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood is joined by Crisis Group's Great Lakes Director Richard Moncrieff to discuss the fall of Goma, the capital of DR Congo's North Kivu province, to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group and its implications for Kinshasa and the broader region. They unpack the rapid collapse of Congolese forces in Goma, the role of Rwandan troops in the offensive, and how the city's residents view the M23. They look at the Rwandan army's presence in the Kivus, Kigali's strategic interests there and its shift from denying involvement to justifying it. They talk about DRC President Félix Tshisekedi's political standing in Kinshasa in the wake of Goma's fall and how he might respond. Finally, they assess the role of other African leaders and prospects for diplomacy. They also look at Rwanda's status as a regional power player and why Western capitals have been reluctant to put more pressure on Kigali to stop meddling. Click here to listen on Apple Podcast or Spotify. For more, be sure to check out our latest statement “Fall of DRC's Goma: Urgent Action Needed to Avert a Regional War”, our EU Watch List Commentary “Turbulence in the DRC Raises Hard Questions for the EU”, and our Great Lakes regional page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

February 1, 2025

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2025 2:24

* Israel to release 183 Palestinians in fourth prisoner exchange Israel is set to release 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday as part of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal, more than doubling the previously reported figure. Palestinian Prisoners' Club spokeswoman Amani Sarahneh confirmed the updated number on Friday, revising an earlier announcement of 90 prisoners to be freed. Meanwhile, Hamas has named three Israeli hostages who will be released * Syrian authorities nab Assad's cousin Najib over crimes against civilians Syrian security forces have arrested Atef Najib, a cousin of ousted Bashar al Assad and former political security chief in Daraa, over crimes against civilians, including children. The arrest was confirmed by Lt. Col. Mustafa Knefati, director of the Public Security Directorate in Latakia, northwest Syria. Najib is accused of being among the first to commit human rights violations at the start of the 2011 uprising and is also blamed for the arrest and torture of children in Daraa. * Intense fighting in DRC's Goma kills 700 people in five days: UN At least 700 people have been killed since Sunday in intense fighting in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN spokesman confirmed. M23 rebel group, allegedly backed by Rwanda, has seized Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC, and is advancing south as volunteers and the struggling Congolese army attempt to push them back. M23 fighters, who took Goma earlier this week, have vowed to march to the capital, Kinshasa, raising fears of further escalation. * Venezuela frees US prisoners as Maduro calls for 'new start' with America Venezuela has freed six Americans after talks between President Nicolas Maduro and a Trump administration official, during which Maduro sought a "new beginning" with Washington. US President Donald Trump and envoy Richard Grenell announced the release on Friday on social media. Grenell's visit surprised many Venezuelans, who had expected Trump to continue his "maximum pressure" campaign against Maduro from his first term. * Israeli spyware targeted scores of WhatsApp users: Meta A WhatsApp official said Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions had targeted scores of users, including journalists and civil society members. On Friday, WhatsApp sent Paragon a cease-and-desist letter following the hack. Paragon declined to comment.

M23 rebels tighten control of Goma amid intense fighting - January 29, 2025

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 3:14

M23 rebels were still in control of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma which they said they captured on Sunday. United Nations officials reported violence, looting, bodies in the streets, and gender-based violence in the city, according to the Associated Press. Reporter Al Katanty Sabiti Djaffar in Goma tells VOA's James Butty, the M23 rebels were consolidating their control of Goma -- the capital of North Kivu province -- on Tuesday

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Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the situation on the ground in DRC “remains volatile and dangerous.

Policy and Rights

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 59:39

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the situation on the ground in DRC “remains volatile and dangerous.” During a press briefing at the United Nations headquarters today (27 Jan) Lacroix said, “The civilian population in a region that is already massively affected, and where the humanitarian challenges are daunting, certainly the risks of a broader humanitarian disaster are very high. And of course, we also want to avoid the risk of a broader war.” To ensure the safety of UN personnel, the mission has begun evacuating staff from Goma “by air and road.” Lacroix noted that the safety and security of the UN personnel “is and must be paramount.” Despite the challenging environment, MONUSCO continues its efforts to protect civilians and stabilize the region, “and that includes disarming combatants in conformity with international humanitarian law. There are significant numbers of civilians and also disarmed combatants that are currently in various MONUSCO premises,” Lacroix noted. Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General said, “With close to 6.5 million displaced people in the country, including close to 3 million displaced people in North Kivu, over one-third of the population of North Kivu is already displaced,” in addition to the new Goma crisis unfolding. Lemarquis described the dire conditions faced by civilians as fighting spreads across Goma. “The humanitarian situation in and around Goma is extremely, extremely worrying, with new thresholds of violence and suffering reached today, as active zones of combat have spread to all quarters of the city—all the neighborhoods of the city. Civilians are bearing the brunt of the escalating hostilities. This morning, heavy artillery fire was directed at the city center,” he reported. Hospitals in Goma are struggling to cope. “Hospitals in Goma are overwhelmed in spite of the support provided, for example, by MSF and ICRC. They are struggling to manage the influx of wounded people,” Lemarquis said, highlighting that the General Hospital, with a capacity of 146 beds, was treating 259 patients, including 90 civilians, just three days ago. Basic services have also been severely disrupted, with water and electricity compromised and Internet service cut as of 1 p.m. Monday. “Phone networks remain operational, but it's patchy and not helping the humanitarian response and coordination,” Lemarquis explained. Amid these challenges, the UN is relocating personnel and their families to safety. “We have taken both our international personnel and national personnel and their dependents to two locations—one in-country, Kinshasa, and the other one in Entebbe, where we have a large UN base,” Lemarquis said. Lacroix emphasized the importance of regional cooperation to resolve the crisis. “The recent announcement of an upcoming meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council is very important. We look forward to further engagement by the African Union in the efforts that are currently being made with a view to bringing about the cessation of hostilities. We count on the AU's involvement in those efforts,” he said.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-and-rights--3339563/support.

January 25, 2025

fighting governor congo wounds rebels authorities province north kivu

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2025 2:44

* Israel says UNRWA must leave East Jerusalem by January 30 Israel's United Nations envoy, Danny Danon, has told the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA must "cease its operations in [East] Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city" by January 30. A law banning UNRWA's operation on Israeli land and contact with Israeli authorities takes effect on January 30. * Pete Hegseth confirmed as defence secretary after Vance's tiebreaking vote Vice President JD Vance has broken the Senate's 50-50 vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as the US Secretary of Defense despite questions over qualifications and allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behaviour toward women. The voting late on Friday was at a 50-50 tie before Vance broke the tie. Rarely has a Cabinet nominee faced such wide-ranging concerns about his experience and behaviour as Hegseth, particularly for such a high-profile role leading the US military. * UN peacekeepers locked in 'intense' fighting against M23 rebels in DRC The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo said that its peacekeepers are "engaged" in "intense" fighting against M23 rebels, who have almost encircled the main city in the country's east. The UN said in a statement that its mission's Quick Reaction Forces have "been actively engaged in intense combat" over the past 48 hours, carrying out heavy artillery fire against M23 positions. The mission reported that heavy clashes were ongoing for the control of Sake — a town in DRC's eastern province of North Kivu. * Sudan army breaks RSF's siege on Khartoum HQ, reclaims oil refinery The Sudanese army has said it broke a siege of its headquarters in Khartoum by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which had encircled it since war broke out in April 2023. In a statement, the army said troops in Bahri (Khartoum North) and Omdurman across the Nile River had "merged with our forces stationed at the General Command of the Armed Forces". A military source confirmed that "the arrival of the forces from Bahri completely lifted the siege on the command". * Experts look for clues as mysterious deaths grip India-administered Kashmir Authorities in the India-administered Jammu and Kashmir region are probing the mysterious deaths of 17 people in a remote village, which has led to a lockdown. Over the past month, 17 individuals from three connected families, including 12 children, have died in the village of Badhaal in the Rajouri district, situated along the Line of Control, the boundary between India- and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed Kashmir region. The deaths took place between December 7 and January 19. Around 200 people have been quarantined, while six others have been hospitalised and are in stable condition, according to officials.

Governor of Congo's North Kivu province dies of his wounds in fighting with rebels, authorities say

AP Audio Stories

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2025 0:58

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on fighting in Congo.

Eastern DR Congo becoming increasingly unsafe, warns UNHCR lead in Goma

Interviews

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2025 5:11

The situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is becoming increasingly unsafe for both civilians and aid teams, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned on Friday, amid threats by the M23 rebel group that its fighters are about to attack Goma, the regional capital of North Kivu.According to the agency, some 400,000 people have been uprooted by violence in North and South Kivu since the beginning of the year alone because of intensifying violence and clashes between the M23 rebels, the Congolese Armed Forces and other armed groups.In an exclusive interview with UN News's Alpha Diallo, UNHCR's chief of office in Goma, Abdoulaye Barry, told us what conditions were like in the key city that's home to two million people.

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Eastern DRC conflict escalates, forcing thousands to flee

Interviews

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2025 3:55

The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached alarming new levels following the M23 armed group's seizure of Minova in South Kivu - a critical hub along the supply route to regional capital Goma.Since the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) withdrew from South Kivu in June 2024, UN peacekeepers have focused on defending key positions in North Kivu, including Goma and Sake, where clashes between the M23, the Congolese Armed Forces and other armed groups persist.Recent fighting in Bweremana claimed at least 10 lives and triggered mass displacement toward Kalehe, Goma and Rusayo, with now over 250,000 people displaced.Speaking to UN News' Cristina Silveiro, MONUSCO spokesperson Ndeye Khady Lo highlighted the severe challenges humanitarian workers face in delivering aid without logistical and security support.

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What does the capture of Masisi mean for M23's offensive in eastern DRCongo?

Africa Daily

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2025 15:14

The latest offensive happened last week when the M23 rebels took Masisi, the administrative centre of the Masisi territory, in North Kivu. Days before, they'd captured another town Katale. Thousands of people have fled and been displaced by the fighting. The Congolese army fought back and reclaimed Masisi but the rebels have since regained control of the town. The M23 has held control over large parts of territory in the east since starting a renewed offensive late last year following the breakdown of peace talks between the presidents of DRCongo and Rwanda, who have been accused of supporting and arming the rebel group. In today's Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja looks at M23's advance, the response from the army and the humanitarian situation for those displaced by the fighting.

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Violence surges in eastern DRC

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Play Episode Listen Later Jan 8, 2025 33:20

The M23 rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have captured the key town of Masisi in the in the mineral-rich North Kivu province, in renewed, intense fighting. Why has there been an upsurge in the the violence and why is seizing control of Masisi so significant? Also in the podcast, why does Nigeria have the highest rates of neonatal jaundice? And we hear from two farmers in Sierra Leone - who are both amputees - about a project called Farming on Crutches, that is aimed at helping people with missing limbs find a new way to make a living.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Yvette Twagiramariya, Sunita Nahar and Kaine Pieri here in London Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Technical producer: Francesca Dunne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

What does M23's advancement mean for DR Congo?

The Inside Story Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 22:30

M23 fighters are advancing in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. They've taken two towns in as many days in North Kivu province. Talks to end the decades-long conflict were abruptly cancelled last month. So, what does this renewed push by M23 mean for the DRC and its people? In this Episode: Reagan Miviri, Researcher, specialises in the conflict in the DRC. Solomon Dersso, Founding Director, Amani Africa. David Munkley, Director, World Vision's response to the conflict in eastern D-R-C. Host: Cyril Vanier Connect with us:@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes!

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100 Dead in the African Country, DRC: English Conversation for the IELTS and TOEFL

Learn American English With This Guy

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2025 21:54

If you like learning about the current news and improving your English for your next English conversation, this English lesson is for you. While watching a news clip about how a rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo called M23 is taking the city of Goma, you will learn English phrasal verbs, English idioms,, and other advanced English vocabulary that can really stump English learners.

Why aren't civilians in Eastern DRC being protected?

Africa Daily

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2024 19:31

Warning: This podcast includes description of sexual violence. “I've worked in this situation for more than 25 years. And for me it's not acceptable to stay in the operating room waiting for patients, and treat them, treat their children and treat their grandchildren. This is not acceptable.” Dr Dennis Mukwege set up the Panzi Clinic in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999. It was initially set up to help women in childbirth, but it quickly changed its focus to treating women raped and brutalised by the different armed groups fighting in the East of the country. It has since treated more than 83,000 survivors of sexual crimes, and in 2018 Dr Mukwege received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. And yet, decades on, he says little has changed and the civilian population is still unprotected from the brutality. Earlier this year the UN's Monusco peacekeeping force withdrew from South Kivu – where Dr Mukwege's clinic is based – under pressure from the Congolese government which accuses it of failing to protect civilians. But its planned withdrawal from North Kivu has been postponed due to fears that the Congolese army is unable to fill the vacuum - leaving civilians even more at risk. In this interview with Africa Daily, Dr Mukwege says it's time the global community stepped in to help – because while civilians suffer, “the wealth of Congo is serving all the world”.

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Daybreak Africa: Extremist Congo rebels kill at least 13, kidnap scores in North Kivu - November 18, 2024

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Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 24:59

At least 13 people were killed and others kidnapped in eastern Congo by extremist rebels linked to the Islamic State group, local authorities said Saturday. Plus, voters in Gabon overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, authorities said Sunday, more than one year after mutinous soldiers overthrew the country's longtime president and seized power in the oil-rich Central African nation. A Gabonese activist will explain why he voted ‘no' in the weekend constitutional referendum. Senegalese await results from Sunday's parliamentary election. World marks Cervical Cancer Action Day with the disease threatening vulnerable groups. The two sides in Liberia's divided parliament debate the outcome of an ECOWAS mediation. South African police set up a taskforce to rescue trapped illegal miner. U.S. House speaker says Trump's Cabinet picks will shake up the status quo. For these and more tune in to Daybreak Africa!

What's it like to have mpox

The Documentary Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2024 23:02

Mpox causes a headache, fever and a blistering rash all over the body. There have been more than 1,200 cases in parts of Central and West Africa since the start of this year. The milder version is now circulating in other parts of the world but the much stronger, possibly deadlier strain, called Clade 1b is also on the rise. A few weeks ago, the World Health Organisation announced that mpox constituted a public health emergency of international concern after an upsurge of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other countries in Africa. Host Luke Jones brings together survivors from the UK and Nigeria to share their experiences. “I thought that I was dying,” said Harun in London. “Nobody knew what it was and I was getting worse every day. I remember looking at a bottle of water and I started crying because I wasn't able to drink.” We also hear from three doctors about some of the challenges they face - from a mistrust in medical professionals, to a belief that mpox is not caused by a virus and so doesn't require hospital treatment. “An elderly man started developing symptoms but felt his symptoms were not due to any pathogen but due to a spiritual attack,” said Dr Dimie Ogoina, from the Niger Delta Teaching hospital. A co-production between Boffin Media and the BBC OS team. (Photo: Elisabeth Furaha applies medication on the skin of her child Sagesse Hakizimana who is under treatment for Mpox, near Goma in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo August 19, 2024. Credit: Arlette Bashizi/File Photo/Reuters)

Daybreak Africa: Fighting rages in Congo as Army, M23 rebels clash - August 26, 2024

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2024 25:00

On Daybreak Africa: Renewed fighting between Democratic Republic of Congo's army and M23 rebels broke out on Sunday around a densely populated town in eastern North Kivu province, where the rebels are waging an insurgency, the army and M23 said. Plus, Rwanda and DRC foreign ministers meet again in Angola in two weeks. Research shows that African youth prefer democracy to any kind of authoritarian alternative. Former Liberian President George Weah seeks the intervention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for what he calls attacks on his party by the current government. Attacks on humanitarian workers in the DRC hamper their efforts to care for thousands of refugees in IDP camps. For these and more, tune in to Daybreak Africa!

Aid group MSF raises alarm over sexual violence in DRC camps - August 12, 2024

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2024 2:40

Alarming rates of violence, particularly sexual violence, in and around displacement camps near North Kivu's capital in Democratic Republic of Congo remain high, according to the aid group, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (or MSF). It says since 2022, more than a million people have fled the conflict in North Kivu. Camille Niel, MSF's emergency coordinator in Goma, told VOA's Chinedu Offor that mortality and morbidity are on the increase

Daybreak Africa: US President Biden urges unity after Trump's assassination attempt - July 15, 2024

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2024 25:00

On Daybreak Africa: President Biden calls for national unity in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Plus, Africans react to the attempted assassination on former President Trump. Democratic Republic of Congo says it will not require the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from its North Kivu province. Most Rwandans will begin voting today Monday in presidential and parliamentary elections. For this and more tune to Daybreak Africa!

DRC reverses call for UN peacekeepers exit in North Kivu - July 15, 2024

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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2024 2:15

The Democratic Republic of Congo says it will not require the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from its North Kivu province due to the presence of Rwandan forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The French News Agency (AFP) quotes the country's foreign minister as saying the situation in the east of the country was not conducive for a troop pullout. Reporter Al Katanty Sabiti Djaffar in the eastern DRC city of Goma, tells VOA's James Butty, local people do not approve of an extended stay for the peacekeepers.

Top UN envoy warns against rush to end mission in DR Congo

Interviews

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2024 8:27

The UN Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has fully withdrawn from South Kivu, ending the first phase of disengagement following the request to pull out altogether from the Government in Kinshasa.MONUSCO's operations began winding down in January, but its Head, Bintou Keita, says there should not be a rush to further disengagement since this process has thrown up unexpected challenges.Given this, phase two for withdrawing from North Kivu will be handled differently, she told UN News's Jerome Bernard.

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DRC group protests rebel attacks in Kivu province - June 19, 2024

Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2024 3:36

In the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, several activities remained paralyzed on Tuesday in the towns of Beni and Butembo and in the territories of Beni and Lubero, in the province of North Kivu. This was at the request of civil society organizations to protest against the massacres of around a hundred civilians by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the eastern part of the country. Zenem Netty Zaidi reports

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Day 11 - Free Congo

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2024 33:39

Content warning for discussion of genocide, torture, mutilation, rape, and slavery Hey, Hi, Hello, this is the History Wizard and welcome back for Day 11 of Have a Day w/ The History Wizard. Thank you to everyone who tuned in for Day 10 last week, and especially thank you to everyone who rated and/or reviewed the podcast. I hope you all learned something last week and I hope the same for this week. This week we're going to be talking about the currently ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the long history of capitalist exploitation, western imperialism, and systemic racism that led to it. But first, as is tradition, let's take a trip over to the Alchemists Table to see what potion we've got for today. Today's libation has a lot going on in it, it's called Underworld Vacation. It starts by adding some strawberries and blueberries to the bottom of your shaker with .75 of an ounce of rose simple syrup before muddling the fruit. Then add one ounce each of pomegranate and elderflower liquor followed by 2 oz of Hendricks Lunar gin, add ice to your shaker and then stir for about 30 seconds before straining into a highball glass and topping with about 4 oz of prosecco. With that out of the way it's time to talk, once again, about the most important part of history. The proverbial devil in the literal details, context. Because to understand what is happening in the DRC today you need to understand the Kivu Conflict, and to understand that you need to understand the Second Congo War, and to understand that you need to understand the First Congo War, and to understand that you need to understand the end of the Rwandan Genocide and the Congo Crisis of the 1960s, and to understand that you need to understand the Scramble for Africa, The Berlin Conference and King Leopold !! of Belgium. So, we've got a lot to cover, and we're going to be doing it in fairly broad strokes, but it might still take us a while, so let's get started with the Berlin Conference. Near the end of the 19th century there was very little European colonial and mercantile presence in Africa. There were some port towns, to be sure, and there was trade, but very little of the African continent was under the control of European powers at this time. But, European greed for gold and, especially, ivory wouldn't allow them to ignore African riches for much longer. The Berlin Conference was organized in 1885 at the request of King Leopold II of Belgium and was organized by Otto von Bismarck of Germany. Leopold had been using the explorations of Henry Morgan Stanley, and his own organization, the International African Association to quietly try and create his own private colony in central Africa that would be called the Congo Free State, but France found out and started making moves, and then Britain and Portugal found out and began trying to grab land which led Germany to do the same. War was brewing quickly as these various European powerhouses all sought as much land, wealth, and power as they could grab. This, ultimately, would be why the Berlin Conference was called and why it was so successful. These European powers decided, instead of going to war and killing each other over Africa they'd just all meet and carve it up like a pecan pie and settle it all peaceful like. There were 14 nations/empires in attendance at the Berlin Conference, Germany, Austria Hungary, the International Congo Society (this really means King Leopold II of Belgium), Spain, Denmark, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden-Norway, and the Ottoman Empire. And while all 14 of those countries were in attendance at the Berlin Conference and had a say in the final decisions that were made, only 7 countries were actually going to colonize Africa once it was over. Those countries were Belgium (really just King Leopold II, this would be his own private colony), Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Portugal, and Italy. At the time of the Berlin Conference less than 10% of the African continent was under European control, but by the time World War 1 broke out only Liberia and Ethiopia were still independent. Although, Liberia certainly only existed because of US colonial power, and so doesn't REALLY count as independent. This period of New Imperialism is what we tend to call The Scramble for Africa. Sof ar we've been talking about this all in fairly clinical terms, as if these European countries simply sat around a table and calmly decided who would get what land in the second largest continent on the planet and then it just happened, with no additional muss or fuss. Anyone who has studied even the barest amount of human history knows that nothing happens without muss or fuss. There were wars, and battles, and massacres that led to Europe gaining control of African territory, but that's not the topic of today's podcast. We now need to talk a bit about the Congo Free State, and how King Leopold of Belgium, a frail weakling (compared to the other European powers) managed to worm his way into the conference and into one of the most lucrative colonies in Africa. The Congo Free State was a truly massive colony that was owned personally by Leopold. It was NOT, at least between the years 1885 and 1908, part of the Belgian Empire, it was not owned by the Belgian government and was ruled entirely separately, it just happened to be ruled by the King of Belgium. Leopold was able to gain this massive colony by convincing the monarchs of Europe that he was engaged in humanitarian and philanthropic work, and that the Congo Free State would be an area of free trade in Africa. Leopold maintained a guise that he was not trying to use the Congo Basin to increase his own wealth and economic and political power. He maintained that his presence in the region was, as was a huge part of the ethos of New Imperialism, to civilize the savages of the Congo Basin and to bring them closer to God and good European cultural supremacy. Of course, all of that was a lie, and that lie would reveal itself over the intervening years. The Congo was home to something that would become one of the most important natural resources in the entire world, rubber. There are only two sources of natural rubber in the world. The sap of the Hevea brasiliensis, or rubber tree that grows in the Amazon River Basin, and the sap of Landolphia owariensis, a species of woody vines that grow in the Congo. I mean, technically there are 2500 species of plants that produce natural latex and rubber, but those two are the big ones. Today 99% of natural latex and rubber comes from the Amazon, but Leopold was able to make massive profit off of his colony. The economic system in the Congo Free State was known as the red rubber system. It was a slave economy that Leopold enforced through the use of his armed forces known as the Force Publique. Each slave in the Congo Free State was required to harvest a regular quota of rubber sap. What that quota was was often arbitrarily decided based purely on profit based concerns. Workers who refused to supply their labour were coerced with "constraint and repression". Dissenters were beaten or whipped with the chicotte, hostages were taken to ensure prompt collection and punitive expeditions were sent to destroy villages which refused. The policy led to a collapse of Congolese economic and cultural life, as well as farming in some areas. Failure to meet the rubber collection quotas was punishable by death. Meanwhile, the Force Publique were required to provide the hand of their victims as proof when they had shot and killed someone, as it was believed that they would otherwise use the munitions (imported from Europe at considerable cost) for hunting or to stockpile them for mutiny. As a consequence, the rubber quotas were in part paid off in cut-off hands. A Catholic priest quotes a man, Tswambe, speaking of the hated state official Léon Fiévez, who ran a district along the river 300 mi north of Stanley Pool: “All blacks saw this man as the devil of the Equator ... From all the bodies killed in the field, you had to cut off the hands. He wanted to see the number of hands cut off by each soldier, who had to bring them in baskets ... A village which refused to provide rubber would be completely swept clean. As a young man, I saw [Fiévez's] soldier Molili, then guarding the village of Boyeka, take a net, put ten arrested natives in it, attach big stones to the net, and make it tumble into the river ... Rubber causes these torments; that's why we no longer want to hear its name spoken. Soldiers made young men kill or rape their own mothers and sisters.” One junior officer in the Force Publique had this to say about the quota system: The baskets of severed hands, set down at the feet of the European post commanders, became the symbol of the Congo Free State. ... The collection of hands became an end in itself. Force Publique soldiers brought them to the stations in place of rubber; they even went out to harvest them instead of rubber ... They became a sort of currency. They came to be used to make up for shortfalls in rubber quotas, to replace ... the people who were demanded for the forced labour gangs; and the Force Publique soldiers were paid their bonuses on the basis of how many hands they collected. Within the Congo Free State there was also rampant famine and disease that killed hundreds of thousands of people, a type of residential school where children were sent to learn to be either workers or soldiers. About 50% of the children who entered these schools died. There were also several reputable reports of Congolese people turning to cannibalism in the face of their lack of food resources. With everyone being forced to harvest rubber there was no one to farm or gather or hunt for food. It is generally accepted that over the course of Leopold's rule in the Congo Free State, between 1885 and 1908 that at least 10 million Congolese people were killed. Eventually word got out of what was happening in the Congo Free State and a conclave of the European powers of the Berlin Conference was called as, even they, decided that Leopold was going too far. Leopold offered to reform his government and economic system in the Congo, but no one would give him the chance, but also, no one wanted to take on the responsibility of rebuilding the Congo. Eventually, after two years of debate, the Belgian Parliament took over control of the Congo. Leopold would die about a year later in 1909. The Congo would remain under under Belgian control for another 50+ years, and while the abuses and overwhelming violence of King Leopold's rule were curbed. They even added a clause to the new Colonial Charter to outlaw slavery. Article 3 of the new Colonial Charter of 18 October 1908 stated that: "Nobody can be forced to work on behalf of and for the profit of companies or privates", but this was not enforced, and the Belgian government continued to impose forced labour on the indigenous people of the area, albeit by less obvious methods. So, even without King Leopold, the Belgian Congo was still a European colony, which means it was still exploited for profit. African independence movements existed throughout the entirety of European colonialism and imperialism in Africa, excepting Liberia the first country in Africa to gain independence from direct European control would be South Africa which would nominally gain its independence in 1910 after the creation of the Union of South Africa and would formally gain official independence when the last vestiges of British parliamentary control would leave the country in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster, and while there would be other successful independence movements after World War 1, such as Egypt, most African decolonization would come after World War 2, including the Congo's. Nationalist movements popping up in various African nations and agitating for Independence is, generally speaking, what would eventually cause all of African independence, and this would be no different for the Congo. Though, something that is often also common in the case of independence movements that emerged between the end of World War 2 and the early 1990s is that they would become proxy wars for the US and the USSR during the Cold War. To make a long, complex story very short, the US came out on top in this war. The nationalist movements within the Congo largely emerged amongst a class of people called the évolués, which is a term that was used in French and Belgian colonies for “evolved ones”, people of African descent who had become somewhat Europanized through education. One of the deciding moments in Congolese independence came in the form of the Leopoldville Riots of 1959. Joseph Kasa-Vubu, who would become the first President of an independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, was the leader of the ABAKO political party, the Alliance of Bakongo. The riots began because many young folks and members or sympathizers of the ABAKO party felt that the government was forbidding them from organizing and protesting. The riots broke out on the 4th of January, 1959. The crowd began throwing rocks at police and attacking white motorists. The initial group of protesters were soon joined by 20,000 Congolese leaving a nearby soccer stadium. At the time press accounts estimated that 35,000 Africans were involved in the violence, which quickly spread as the rioters attempted to enter the European section of the capital. Rioters allegedly smashed and looted storefronts, burned Catholic missions and beat Catholic priests. Many demonstrators chanted "indépendance immédiate" The Belgian Parliament established a commission of inquiry to investigate the cause of the riots. The commission found the disturbances to be the culmination of discontent with racial discrimination, overcrowding, and unemployment. It also concluded that external political events, such as France's decision to grant self-governance to the neighboring French Congo, to be a contributing factor, and criticized the colonial administration's response to the riot. On 13 January the administration went forward with its scheduled announcement of reforms, including new local elections in December, the institution of a new civil service statue that made no racial distinctions, and the appointment of more Africans to advisory bodies. The Belgian King, Baudouin, also declared for the first time that independence would be granted to the Congo in the future. January 4th is still celebrated as an auspicious day in the DRC, it's the Day of the Martyrs and denotes a turning point in the independence movement. Congolese independence was officially declared, as planned, on the 30th of June, 1960, with Kasa-Vubu of the ABAKO elected as president and Patrice Lumumba of the Congolese National Movement appointed as the Prime Minister. Now, despite the DRC formally being declared as independent at this day, they still relied heavily on Belgian colonial institutions that had been in place previously, like the Force Publique and various white technical experts who couldn't be replaced in the face of a lack of ready replacements available amongst the Congolese people. The fact that this lack of available peoples being a result of European colonialism forbidding Congolese people from higher education wound up being somewhat irrelevant, but absolutely caused greater levels of resentment among the newly independent Congolese. In the face of this lack of change and in the face of an address given by Lieutenant General of the Force Publique Émile Janssens, many of the Congolese troops mutinied. The address went as follows: "Independence brings changes to politicians and to civilians. But for you, nothing will be changed ... none of your new masters can change the structure of an army which, throughout its history, has been the most organized, the most victorious in Africa. The politicians have lied to you." Instead of sending in Belgian troops to put down the mutiny, as Janssens wanted, Lumumba fired him and began to institute some reforms, including immediately remaining the Force Publique to the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC) and promoting all black soldier by at least one rank. While this had success in Leopoldville and Thysville, it failed in the rest of the country and the mutiny intensified. The government attempted to stop the revolt—Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu intervened personally at Léopoldville and Thysville and persuaded the mutineers to lay down their arms—but in most of the country the mutiny intensified. White officers and civilians were attacked, white-owned properties were looted and white women were raped. The Belgian government became deeply concerned by the situation, particularly when white civilians began entering neighbouring countries as refugees. The international press expressed shock at the apparent sudden collapse of order in the Congo, as the world view of the Congolese situation prior to independence—due largely to Belgian propaganda—was one of peace, stability, and strong control by the authorities. The Congo Crisis would run for 5 years and would end with the torture and assassination of Patrice Lumumba, with Joesph Kasa-Vubu dying while under house arrest, and with the military dictator Mobuto Sese Seko “elected” as the president of the Republic of Congo-Leopoldville. This would note just one in the long string of times that the US helped to install a military dictator in order to overthrow a democratically elected left wing government, just because they had support from the USSR and the US feared (and fears) any threat to their capitalist hegemony. Between 1965 and 1971 Mobutu consolidated his hold on power as much as he could, removing all provincial control over anything and bringing every scrap of infrastructure he could under the control of himself and his central government. In 1971, with his hold on power relatively secure and as part of his policy of Africanization of the Congo's culture and government Mobutu renamed the Republic of Congo Leopoldville to Zaire, a name that was derived from the Kikongo wore nzere, meaning “river that swallows all rivers”. Mobutu would remain as “president” of Zaire all the way until 1997, but his hold on power would begin to crumble with the First Congo War that began in 1993. Now comes the time for more context. What started the First Congo War? Honestly, to a certain extent we can view the First Congo War as an extension of the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide began in 1994 as a final culmination of ethnic tensions that were exacerbated by, first, German and the Belgian colonialism. See, Rwanda used to be a German colony, Rwanda was one of the nations that Germany got as part of the Scramble for Africa, but after World War 1, with the signing of the treaty of Versailles Germany was forced to give up all of its overseas colonies. Belgium gained control of Rwanda. Belgium maintained many of the systems of power and oppression that Germany had put into place, most notably the fact that they put the Tutsi ethnic group in positions of authority and disenfranchised the Hutu and Twa ethnic group. The Twa are the indigenous ethnic group of Rwanda, but by the time the Rwandan genocide occurred they were only about 1% of the population, about 85% were Hutu and the remaining 14% were Tutsi. Still, based on the indicators of European scientific racism and phrenology the Tutsi had more “European features” and so were considered superior to the Hutu ethnic group and placed, exclusively, in positions of authority. The sudden shift in power dynamics after Rwandan independence is what would lead to the Rwandan Genocide as Hutu supremacists decided to vent their fury on the Tutsi people. We won't go into any more detail than that for the Rwandan genocide. Suffice it to say that when it ended hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsi people had fled the nation of Rwanda to neighboring African countries, such as Zaire. Roughly 1.5 million ethnic Tutsi people wound up settling in Zaire. There were also about 1 million Hutu extremists in eastern Zaire who had fled the retaliation of the Rwandan Patriotic Front at the end of the Rwandan Civil War and the Rwandan Genocide. As mentioned previously, the First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War can most simply be seen as an extension of the Rwandan Genocide. Zaire had been in decline since Mobutu gained power in 1965. He was a terrible leader and the average GDP of Zaire dropped by about 65% during his reign. Eastern Zaire was a region of massive instability that was only made worse by the number of Hutu extremists who fled to the region following the Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda, just fully, invaded Zaire in 1996 in order to put down various Hutu rebel groups that were extant in the region. These rebel groups were actively funded and supported by Mobutu's government leading to this war that lasted for some 6 months. It involved several African nations including Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Burundi, Zambia, ZImbabwe, South Sudan, Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Chad, China, Israel, and Kuwait. Following the war Mobutu went into exile in the nation of Togo where he eventually died of prostate cancer in 1997. Zaire came under the rule of the communist aligned Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila had heavy support from Rwandan, Burundian, and Ugandan forces during his rise to power in the form of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire. Kabila also came to be seen as an instrument of the foreign regimes that put him in power. To counter this image and increase domestic support, he began to turn against his allies abroad. This culminated in the expulsion of all foreign forces from the DRC on 26 July 1998. The states with armed forces still in the DRC begrudgingly complied although some of them saw this as undermining their interests, particularly Rwanda, which had hoped to install a proxy-regime in Kinshasa. Several factors that led to the First Congo War remained in place after Kabila's accession to power. Prominent among these were ethnic tensions in eastern DRC, where the government still had little control. There the historical animosities remained and the opinion that Banyamulenge, as well as all Tutsi, were foreigners was reinforced by the foreign occupation in their defence. Furthermore, Rwanda had not been able to satisfactorily address its security concerns. By forcibly repatriating refugees, Rwanda had imported the conflict. This manifested itself in the form of a predominantly Hutu insurgency in Rwanda's western provinces that was supported by extremist elements in eastern DRC. Without troops in the DRC, Rwanda was unable to successfully combat the insurgents. In the first days of August 1998, two brigades of the new Congolese army rebelled against the government and formed rebel groups that worked closely with Kigali and Kampala. This marked the beginning of the Second Congo War. The Second Congo War is generally considered to be the deadliest war since World War 2. Over the course of this war some 5.4 million excess deaths took place. Now comes the time where I need to define what an excess death is. In epidemiology, the excess deaths or excess mortality is a measure of the increase in the number deaths during a time period and/or in a certain group, as compared to the expected value or statistical trend during a reference period (typically of five years) or in a reference population. It may typically be measured in percentage points, or in number of deaths per time unit. To put it more simply, disease, depravation, and starvation were so rampant during the Second Congo War that the overwhelming majority of deaths weren't caused directly by the fighting, but were caused by the residual damage of the fighting. The Second Congo War involved many of the same issues of the First Congo War. It would end with Laurent-Désiré Kabila assassinated in 2001 in his office by an 18 year old former child soldier. Laurent would be replaced as president by his son Joseph Kabila, who was elected unanimously by the Congolese parliament. To further highlight the complexity of the Congolese Wars, In April 2001, a UN panel of experts investigated the illegal exploitation of diamonds, cobalt, coltan, gold and other lucrative resources in the Congo. The report accused Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe of systematically exploiting Congolese resources and recommended the Security Council impose sanctions. All conflicts within Congolese territory will ultimately go back to economic exploitation and capitalist overreach. The Congo Basin is full of some of the most valuable natural resources that exist on the planet, and people will always be fighting over them. This leads us into the Kivu conflict. The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. This includes, but is not limited to Effacer le tableau, which was a genocidal extermination campaign against the Mbuti Pygmy ethnic group. The Bambuti were targeted specifically as the rebels considered them "subhuman", and it was believed by the rebels that the flesh of the Bambuti held "magical powers". There were also reports of cannibalism being widespread. It is estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Pygmy were killed in the campaign, and over 100,000 more were displaced. There are more than 120 distinct rebel groups involved in the Kivu Conflict, including the March 23 Movement, which a UN report indicates was created by the Rwandan government in order to potentially take over the Congolese government. Conflict began in 2004 in the eastern Congo as an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Hutu Power group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has played a large role in the conflict. With 21,000 soldiers in the force, the Kivu conflict constitutes the largest peacekeeping mission currently in operation. In total, 93 peacekeepers have died in the region, with 15 dying in a large-scale attack by the Allied Democratic Forces, in North Kivu in December 2017. The peacekeeping force seeks to prevent escalation of force in the conflict, and minimise human rights abuses like sexual assault and the use of child soldiers in the conflict. In 2007 and 2008, in several news and TV reports, the BBC published own evidence about Pakistani MONUC peacekeepers in Mongbwalu had entered in a gold-for-guns trading relationship with Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) militia leaders, eventually drawing Congolese army officers and Indian traders from Kenya into the deal. Following its own investigations, the UN concluded that there was no involvement of Pakistani peacekeeper in any such trade relationship. Namely Human Rights Watch harshly criticized the UN for the way it handled the investigation, providing detailed information from several UN documents, arguing that serious allegations of wrongdoing by Pakistani peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo were ignored, minimized or shelved by the UN's Organization of Internal Oversight Services. MONUC officials say nothing of substance about mining in Congo, which proceeds in parallel with the bloodletting, arms trading and extortion. For example, Anvil Mining has been involved in massacres in DRC. Anvil directors include former U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Brown, who served at U.S. embassies in Brussels, Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville and South Africa. Brown was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa (1987–1989) under George Shultz and George H.W. Bush and Director of Central African Affairs (1980–1981). Interestingly, Brown succeeded William Lacy Swing—head of MONUC in DRC—as Ambassador to the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). Meanwhile, the former top internal intelligence and security chief of the United Nations Observer's Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has been worked for Anvil mining in Katanga since 2006. There have been numerous cases of sexual misconduct by UN peacekeeping forces in the Congo. This has been acknowledged by the UN itself (such as the letter of 24 March 2005 from the Secretary-General to the President of the General Assembly). So, basically foreign powers both within Africa and outside of it are actively fighting within the Congo Basin in order to secure control of the vast amount of natural resources that exist within the nation. The DRC currently produces about 70% of the world's cobalt, and 80% of the cobalt mines in the DRC are owned by China. The leading use of cobalt in modern technology is in rechargeable batteries. So your cell phone battery, your laptop batteries, any kind of rechargeable battery you have is likely created using Congolese cobalt, which is a direct cause of the millions of deaths and displacements that are occuring in the DRC. The DRC is, effectively, the site of a capitalist proxy war as the region is fought over by foreign governments and local rebel groups for control over Congolese natural resources. No one in Europe or the US would even begin to care about an African country if it wasn't for the battery technology resources that are so abundant in the region. Between 1885 and today it is, very easy, to say that roughly 20 million people have been killed by capitalist excess and exploitation. We can, absolutely call what is happening in the DRC a genocide, though it can be difficult to always pinpoint who, exactly are the victims. Broadly speaking the victims are the Congolese people, all of them, who are being killed over a desire to control the cobalt mines. This has gone far beyond simple ethnic conflict between Hutu and Tutsi, though that conflict, which is still ongoing, definitely added to the fire. This is a genocide of the people of the DRC by capitalism itself. Capitalism has always been, and will always be an inherently genocidal institution. It craves the acquisition of individual wealth at the expense of the working class. You cannot have a system predicated on infinite growth within a closed system. Capitalism will always require that resources and wealth be stolen from people who need them. And when so much of our wealth is tied up in food, water, and housing, the theft of those resources from the working class will lead to our deaths. For the past century and a half the Congo Basin has been subjected to genocide after genocide in the name of capitalism. What is happening right now is only an extension of that, though made far more complicated by the literal hundreds of competing groups and the lack of any international will to see peace achieved. That's it for this week folks. No new reviews, so let's get right into the outro. Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard is brought to you by me, The History Wizard. If you want to see/hear more of me you can find me on Tiktok @thehistorywizard or on Instagram @the_history_wizard. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to Have a Day! On your pod catcher of choice. The more you do, the more people will be able to listen and learn along with you. Thank you for sticking around until the end and, as always, Have a Day, and Free Congo.

united states god tv director amazon history tiktok president europe israel china education france mission state british french germany war africa russia european italy failure german movement spain united kingdom south africa african bbc indian portugal union britain catholic netherlands ambassadors soldiers kenya bush honestly alliance independence denmark belgium workers republic capitalism cold war uganda prime minister congo liberation ethiopia world war arm great britain gdp zimbabwe rwanda brussels tanzania belgians martyrs genocide laurent westminster zambia ussr kuwait angola pakistani sof liberia rubber general assembly democratic republic first world war south sudan togo prominent scramble secretary general ugandan suffice leopold burundi bismarck ottoman empire nationalists statutes rwandan drc anvil congolese kampala rioters kinshasa kigali security council deputy assistant secretary tutsi twa equator lumumba rwandan genocide pygmy patrice lumumba lieutenant general hutu congo brazzaville janssens austria hungary dissenters kivu effacer mobutu king leopold kabila baudouin belgian congo katanga congo basin king leopold ii burundian george shultz joseph kabila berlin conference congo free state north kivu new imperialism laurent d united nations mission mbuti pygmy

War and Dizzying Regional Alliances in Congo's East

The Horn

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2024 39:45

In this episode of The Horn, Alan Boswell talks with Crisis Group's Great Lakes project director Richard Moncrieff about the latest from DR Congo as violence in eastern North Kivu continues to escalate. They unpack the recent attack by a group of armed men in Kinshasa, which has been framed as a coup by the government. They discuss the escalating violence in eastern DR Congo as fighting between M23 rebels and government forces moves closer to the regional capital Goma. They talk about the shifting of regional alliances and Kinshasa's turn to its southern African allies. They assess the implications of the M23 securing valuable mining sites in the region and Rwanda's involvement in the trade of minerals originating from the DRC. They also talk about where the diplomatic efforts to end the conflict might be headed.For more on the topics discussed in this episode, check out our previous podcast episodes Great Lakes Politics and the Fight for the Eastern DR Congo and The Boiling Regional Crisis in Eastern Congo as well as our DR Congo country page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

african east fight acast regional congo horn rwanda great lakes alliances drc kinshasa goma m23 eastern congo north kivu

DRC Conflict

Let's Know Things

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2024 22:27

This week we talk about the Rwandan genocide, the First and Second Congo Wars, and M23.We also discuss civil wars, proxy conflicts, and resource curses.Recommended Book: Everyday Utopia by Kristen R. GhodseeTranscriptThe Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, was previously known as Zaïre, a name derived from a Portuguese mistranscription of the regional word for "river."It wore that monicker from 1971 until 1997, and this region had a rich history of redesignations before that, having been owned by various local kingdoms, then having been colonized by Europeans, sold to the King of Belgium in 1885, who owned it personally, not as a part of Belgium, which was unusual, until 1908, renaming it for that period the Congo Free State, which was kind of a branding exercise to convince all the Europeans who held territory thereabouts that he was doing philanthropic work, though while he did go to war with local and Arab slavers in the region, he also caused an estimated millions of deaths due to all that conflict, due to starvation and disease and punishments levied against people who failed to produce sufficient volumes of rubber from plantations he built in the region.So all that effort and rebranding also almost bankrupted him, the King of Belgium, because of the difficulties operating in this area, even when you step into it with vast wealth, overwhelming technological and military advantages, and the full backing of a powerful, if distant, nation.After the King's deadly little adventure, the region he held was ceded to the nation of Belgium as a colony, which renamed it the Belgium Congo, and it eventually gained independence from Belgium, alongside many other European colonies around the world, post-WWII, in mid-1960.Almost immediately there was conflict, a bunch of secessionist movements turning into civil wars, and those civil wars were amplified by the meddling of the United States and the Soviet Union, which supported different sides, funding and arming them as they tended to do in proxy conflicts around the world during this portion of the Cold War.This period, which lasted for about 5 years after independence, became known as the Congo Crisis, because government leaders kept being assassinated, different groups kept rising up, being armed, killing off other groups, and then settling in to keep the government from unifying or operating with any sense of security or normalcy.Eventually a man named Mobutu Sese Seko, usually just called Mobutu, launched a real deal coup that succeeded, and he imposed a hardcore military dictatorship on the country—his second coup, actually, but the previous one didn't grant him power, so he tried again a few years later, in 1965, and that one worked—and though he claimed, as many coup-launching military dictators do, that he would stabilize things over the next five years, restoring democracy to the country in the process, that never happened, though claiming he would did earn him the support of the US and other Western governments for the duration, even as he wiped out any government structure that could oppose him, including the position of Prime Minister in 1966, and the institution of Parliament in 1967.In 1971, as I mentioned, he renamed the country Zaïre, nationalized all remaining foreign owned assets in the country, and it took another war, which is now called the First Congo War, to finally unseat him. And this conflict, which began in late-1996, spilled over into neighboring countries, including Sudan and Uganda, and a slew of other nations were involved, including but not limited to Chad, the Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Eritrea, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, alongside foreign assistance granted to various sides by France, China, Israel, and covertly, the United States.The conflict kicked off when Rwanda invaded Zaïre, more neighboring states joined in, all of them intending to take out a bunch of rebel groups that the Mobutu government was no longer keeping in line: Mobutu himself having long since fallen ill, and thus lacking the control he once had, but still profiting mightily from outside influences that kept him as a friendly toehold in the region.So these other nations sent military forces into Zaïre to handle these groups, which were causing untold troubles throughout the region, and the long and short of this conflict is that it only lasted a few months, from October 1996 to May 1997, but the destruction and carnage was vast, everyone on both sides partnering up to take out rebels, or in the case of those rebels, to join up against these government militaries, and all of them using the opportunity to also engage in violence against ethnic enemies with whom they had long-simmering beefs.This led to the collapse of Mobutu's government, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo when a new government was installed, but very little changed in terms of the reality of how that government functioned, so all the same variables were still in place a year later, in 1998, when what's now called the Second Congo War kicked off, informed by basically the same problems but bringing even more African governments into the fighting, many of them pulled into things by alliances they had with involved neighbors.And just as before, a variety of groups who felt aggrieved by other groups throughout the region used this conflict as an excuse to slaughter and destroy people and towns they didn't like, including what's been called a genocide of a group of Pygmy people who lived in the area, around 70,000 of them killed in the waning days of the war.In mid-2003, a peace agreement was signed, most of the warring factions that had fought in Congolese territory were convinced to leave, and it was estimated that up to 5.4 million people had died during the conflict.What I'd like to talk about today is what's happening in the DRC, now, at a moment of heightening tensions throughout the region, and in the DRC in particular, amidst warnings from experts that another regional conflict might be brewing.—A transition government was set up in the DRC in 2003, following the official end of that Second Congo war, and this government, though somewhat weak and absolutely imperfect in many ways, did manage to get the country to the point, three years later, in 2006, that it could hold an actual multi-party election; the country's first ever, which is no small thing.Unfortunately, a dispute related to the election results led to violence between supporters of the two primary candidates, so a second election was held—and that one ended relatively peacefully and a new president, Joseph Kabila, was sworn in.Kabila was reelected in 2011, then in 2018 he said he wouldn't be running again, which helped bring about the country's first peaceful transition of power when the next president, from the opposing party, stepped into office.During his tenure in office, though, Kabila's DRC was at near-constant war with rebel groups that semi-regularly managed to capture territory, and which were often supported by neighboring countries, alongside smaller groups, so-called Mai-Mai militias, that were established in mostly rural areas to protect residents from roaming gangs and other militias, and which sometimes decided to take other people's stuff or territory, even facing off with government forces from time to time.Violence between ethnic groups has also continued to be a problem, including the use of sexual violence and wholesale attempted genocide, which has been difficult to stop because of the depth of some of the issues these groups have with each other, and in some cases the difficulty the government has just getting to the places where these conflicts are occurring, infrastructure in some parts of the country being not great, where it exists at all.That 2018 election, where power was given away by one president to another, peacefully, for the first time, was notable in that regard, but it was also a milestone in it marked the beginning of widespread anti-election conspiracy theories, in that case the Catholic Church saying that the official results were bunk, and other irregularities, like a delay of the vote in areas experiencing Ebola outbreaks, those areas in many cases filled with opposition voters, added to suspicions.The most recent election, at the tail-end of 2023, was even more awash with such concerns, the 2018 winner, President Tshisekedi, winning reelection with 73% of the vote, and a cadre of nine opposition candidates signing a declaration saying that the election was rigged and that they want another vote to be held.All of which establishes the context for what's happening in the DRC, today, which is in some ways a continuation of what's been happening in this country pretty much since it became a country, but in other ways is an escalation and evolution of the same.One of the big focal points here, though, is the role that neighboring Rwanda has played in a lot of what's gone down in the DRC, including the issues we're seeing in 2024.Back in 1994, during what became known as the Rwandan genocide, militias from the ruling majority Hutu ethnic group decided to basically wipe out anyone from the minority Tutsi ethnic group.Somewhere between a 500,000 and a million people are estimated to have been killed between April and July of that year, alone, and that conflict pushed a lot of Hutu refugees across the border into the eastern DRC, which at the time was still Zaïre.About 2 million of these refugees settled in camps in the North and South Kivu provinces of the DRC, and some of them were the same extremists who committed that genocide in Rwanda in 1994, and they started doing what they do in the DRC, as well, setting up militias, in this case mostly in order to defend themselves against the new Tutsi-run government that had taken over in Rwanda, following the genocide.This is what sparked that First Congo War, as the Tutsi-run Rwandan government, seeking justice and revenge against those who committed all those atrocities went on the hunt for any Hutu extremists they could find, and that meant invading a neighboring country in order to hit those refugee groups, and the militias within them, that had set up shop there.The Second Congo War was sparked when relations between the Congolese and Rwandan governments deteriorated, the DRC government pushing Rwandan troops out of the eastern part of their country, and Kabila, the leader of the DRC at the time, asking everyone else to leave, all foreign troops that were helping with those Hutu militias.Kabila then allowed the Hutus to reinforce their positions on the border with Rwanda, seemingly as a consequence of a burgeoning international consensus that the Rwandan government's actions following the genocide against the Tutsis had resulted in an overcompensatory counter-move against Hutus, many of whom were not involved in that genocide, and the Tutsis actions in this regard amounted to war crimes.One of the outcomes of this conflict, that second war, was the emergence of a mostly Tutsi rebel group called the March 23 Movement, or M23, which eventually became a huge force in the region in the early 20-teens, amidst accusations that the Congolese government was backing them.M23 became such an issue for the region that the UN Security Council actually sent troops into the area to work with the Congolese army to fend them off, after they made moves to start taking over chunks of the country, and evidence subsequently emerged that Rwanda was supporting the group and their effort to screw over the Congolese government, which certainly didn't help the two countries' relationship.Alongside M23, ADF, and CODECO, a slew of more than 100 other armed, rebel groups still plague portions of the DRC, and part of the issue here is that Rwanda and other neighboring countries that don't like the DRC want to hurt them to whatever degree they're able, but another aspect of this seemingly perpetual tumult is the DRC's staggering natural resource wealth.Based on some estimates, the DRC has something like $24 trillion worth of natural resource deposits, including the world's largest cobalt and coltan reserves, two metals that are fundamental to the creation of things like batteries and other aspects of the modern economy, and perhaps especially the modern electrified economy.So in some ways this is similar to having the world's largest oil deposits back in the early 20th century: it's great in a way, but it's also a resource curse in the sense that everyone wants to steal your land, and in the sense that setting up a functioning government that isn't a total kleptocracy, corrupt top to bottom, is difficult, because there's so much wealth just sitting there, and there's no real need to invest in a fully fleshed out, functioning economy—you can just take the money other countries offer you to exploit your people and resources, and pocket that.And while that's not 100% what's happened in the DRC, it's not far off.During the early 2000s and into the 20-teens, the DRC government sold essentially all its mining rights to China, which has put China in control of the lion's share of some of the world's most vital elements for modern technology.The scramble to strike these deals, and subsequent efforts to defend and stabilize on one hand, or to attack and destabilize these mining operations, on the other, have also contributed to instability in the region, because local groups have been paid and armed to defend or attack, soldiers and mercenaries from all over the world have been moved into the area to do the same, and the logic of Cold War-era proxy conflicts has enveloped this part of Africa to such a degree that rival nations like Uganda are buying drones and artillery from China to strike targets within the DRC, even as China arms DRC-based rebel groups to back up official military forces that are protecting their mining operations.It's a mess. And it's a mess because of all those historical conditions and beefs, because of conflicts in other, nearby countries and the machinations of internal and external leaders, and because of the amplification of all these things resulting from international players with interests in the DRC—including China, but also China's rivals, all of whom want what they have, and in some cases, don't want China to have what they have.In 2022, M23 resurfaced after laying low for years, and they took a huge chunk of North Kivu in 2023.For moment that same year, it looked like Rwanda and the DRC might go to war with each other over mining interests they control in the DRC, but a pact negotiated by the US led to a reduction in the military buildup in the area, and a reduction in their messing with each other's political systems.In December of 2023, though, the President of the DRC compared the President of Rwanda to Hitler and threatened to declare war against him, and UN troops, who have become incredibly unpopular in the region, in part because of various scandals and corruption within their ranks, began to withdraw—something that the US and UN have said could lead to a power vacuum in the area, sparking new conflicts in an already conflict-prone part of the country.As of March 2024, soldiers from South Africa, Burundi, and Tanzania are fighting soldiers from Rwanda who are supporting M23 militants in the eastern portion of the DRC, these militants already having taken several towns.Seven million Congolese citizens are internally displaced as a result of these conflicts, having had to flee their homes due to all the violence, most of them now living in camps or wandering from place to place, unable to settle down anywhere due to other violence, and a lack of sufficient resources to support them.Rwanda, for its part, denies supporting M23, and it says the Congolese government is trying to expel Tutsis who live in the DRC.Burundi, located just south of Rwanda, has closed its border with its neighbor, and has also accused Rwanda of supporting rebels within their borders with the intent of overthrowing the government.Most western governments have voiced criticisms of Rwanda for deploying troops within its neighbors' borders, and for reportedly supporting these militant groups, but they continue to send the Rwandan government money—Rwanda gets about a third of its total budget from other governments, and the US is at the top of that list of donors, but the EU also sends millions to Rwanda each year, mostly to fund military actions aimed at taking out militants that make it hard to do business in the region.So changes in political stances are contributing to this cycle of violence and instability, as are regular injections of outside resources like money and weapons and soldiers.And as this swirl of forces continues to make the DRC borderline ungovernable, everyday people continue to be butchered and displaced, experiencing all sorts of violence, food shortages, and a lack of basic necessities like water, and this ongoing and burgeoning humanitarian nightmare could go on to inform and spark future conflicts in the region.Show Noteshttps://archive.ph/lk0mNhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kabilahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_genocidehttps://gsphub.eu/country-info/Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congohttps://www.reuters.com/world/africa/why-fighting-is-flaring-eastern-congo-threatening-regional-stability-2024-02-19/https://archive.ph/lk0mNhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/a-guide-to-the-decades-long-conflict-in-dr-congohttps://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_23_Movementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kivu_conflicthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_Statehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobutu_Sese_Sekohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Crisishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo_coup_d%27%C3%A9tathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Congo_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Congo_War This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

Daybreak Africa: SADC Talks Security as DRC Rebels Advance - March 08, 2024

women house africa joe biden south africa african security advance congo zimbabwe rebels liberia democratic republic daybreak goma sadc north kivu

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2024 29:51

On Daybreak Africa: Top army officials from the southern African regional bloc- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) - visited the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week, where they held a high-level meeting in the city of Goma, the capital of embattled North Kivu province. Plus, Liberia's House of Representatives endorsed and signed a resolution that calls for the establishment of a war and economic crimes court. In South Africa law enforcement agencies investigate over 300,000 fraudulent visas and residency permits. Zimbabwe's government responds to modified U.S. sanctions announced by the Biden administration this week. Women's advocates say unpaid work, particularly those in developing economies like Africa, are a barrier to gender equity. For this and more tune to Daybreak Africa!

Rwanda Warns Against Regional Troops in DRC - March 06, 2024

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2024 4:31

Rwanda has asked the African Union not to support troops from southern African countries deployed to fight armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), claiming the force will exacerbate the conflict. Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta in a letter to the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, made public Monday, accused the regional force of fighting alongside the DRC army and other coalition armed groups, which include Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Last month, fresh fighting erupted between the Congolese army and March 23 Movement (M23) rebels around Goma and Sake in the DRC's eastern province of North Kivu. DRC accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, claims Kigali denies. Political analyst, DAVID MONDA, tells VOA's Douglas Mpuga, Rwanda sees the deployment of SADC forces in Eastern DRC as destabilizing the strategic balance in the region.

March 5, 2024

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2024 3:17

*) Israel killed 13,430 Palestinian children since October 7 — Gaza Israeli air strikes and ground invasion have killed 13,430 children since the start of Tel Aviv's carnage in the besieged Palestinian enclave, Gaza's Media Office said. It added that 8,900 women were killed over 150 days, and 7,000 people, 70 percent of whom are women and children, are still under the rubble or missing. The media office said that 364 health personnel and 132 journalists also were killed during the period. *) Dismantling UNRWA would sacrifice 'generation of children' The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is calling out threats to shut down the organisation. Philippe Lazzarini said cutting UNRWA loose would leave a generation of Palestinian children in the lurch, breeding anger and violence. He told the UN General Assembly that stopping UNRWA's work is a bad idea because it would hurt millions who depend on their help, especially at a time when things are already tough. UNRWA is facing funding freezes and pressure from Israel to close up. *) Thousands flee as attack blamed on M23 rebels claims 15 lives in DRC's east The M23 militia fighters have launched sweeping attacks in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 15 people and leading thousands to flee, witnesses and government officials said. Testimony from locals, health workers and government officials on Monday pointed to attacks in the Rutshuru region of the eastern province of North Kivu. Access to the North Kivu capital Goma has been virtually severed. *) US top court reverses Colorado move to disqualify Trump from state ballot The US Supreme Court has handed Donald Trump a major victory as he campaigns to regain the presidency, barring states from disqualifying candidates for federal office under a constitutional provision involving insurrection and reversing a judicial decision that had excluded him from Colorado's ballot. The justices on Monday unanimously reversed a December 19 decision by Colorado's top court to kick Trump off the state's Republican primary ballot on Tuesday after finding that the US Constitution's 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office. The Colorado court had found that Trump took part in an insurrection for inciting and supporting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. *) EU hits Apple with record $2B antitrust fine in Spotify case Brussels has fined Apple $2B for thwarting competition from music streaming rivals via restrictions on its App Store, the iPhone maker's first-ever penalty for breaching EU rules. A huge lump sum inflated a basic penalty of $43M included as a deterrent - a first for the European Union's antitrust authorities on Monday. The European Commission charged Apple last year with preventing Swedish streaming service Spotify and others from informing users of payment options outside its App Store, following a 2019 complaint by Spotify.

Great Lakes Politics and the Fight for the Eastern DR Congo

Hold Your Fire!

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2024 52:07

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group's Great Lakes director, Richard Moncrieff, to discuss the spike in violence in eastern Congo's North Kivu province, where clashes between M23 rebels and government forces have intensified. They talk about the fight for Sake, a town just west of provincial capital Goma, the risk of the M23 marching on Goma and the worsening humanitarian crisis. They look at what's behind Kinshasa's pivot to southern Africa for support, escalating friction between the DR Congo and Rwanda over Kigali's alleged support for the M23 and increasing polarisation in the region over the war. They look at the prospects of talks with the M23, a regional track involving Rwanda and other neighbours of the DR Congo and the role of Western governments that traditionally have close ties to Rwanda. For more on the topics discussed in this episode, visit our DRC country page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

politics africa western acast sake congo rwanda great lakes drc kinshasa kigali goma m23 drcongo hold your fire north kivu

World roundup: November 14 2023

Foreign Exchanges

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2023 19:55

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:Friends, for family reasons and also because of my own mental exhaustion I will be taking a longer than usual break from the newsletter for this year's Thanksgiving holiday. The newsletter will be going quiet following Thursday's roundup and will return to our regular schedule on Tuesday, November 28. As I've written before here I can always tell when it's time for me to take a bit of a break from the newsletter and the truth is we probably passed that point around three or four weeks ago so I'm running on fumes. Thanks for reading and for supporting this venture!TODAY IN HISTORYNovember 14, 1965: The Battle of Ia Drang, the first major engagement between the United States and the North Vietnamese Army, begins. It ended on November 18 with both sides claiming victory, though the NVA's ability to fight the much better armed US Army to a draw was a boost to their morale and probably the battle's most important effect.November 14, 2001: Fighters with the Northern Alliance rebel coalition enter and occupy the city of Kabul, marking the end of the US war in Afghanista—just kidding. I had you going there for a second, didn't I?INTERNATIONALWith deaths due to “extreme heat” projected to increase five-fold by 2050, according to The Lancet Countdown, you'll no doubt be pleasantly surprised to learn that an AP investigative report shows that the “green transition plans” being formulated by most major fossil fuel companies are not green, not transitional, and not even really plans. Without any serious government pressure to force them to invest in genuinely renewable technologies, these firms are able to do things like, say, classify natural gas development as a “green” investment. That's absurd, of course, but who's counting?The main problem with these plans has long been, and continues to be, the fact that fossil fuel companies exempt the products they sell when assessing their progress toward “net zero” carbon emissions. Firms only account for “Scope 1” emissions, which are their direct carbon outputs, and “Scope 2” emissions, the indirect output that results from their production process. The emissions that ensue when people burn the products they sell are considered “Scope 3” and energy firms disavow any responsibility for them. Like tobacco companies, they argue that what the customer does with their products is the customer's business, not theirs. Maybe people just want to buy a barrel of oil and place it in their foyer as a conversation piece or put it to some other use that doesn't emit carbon. Who's to say?MIDDLE EASTISRAEL-PALESTINEEarly Wednesday morning Israeli forces began what they called “a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa hospital” involving “medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians.” There are hundreds of patients and thousands of other people who have been trapped in the hospital by the IDF and the chances that “no harm” will come to any of them in the next several hours are probably slim. Israeli officials have been insisting that Hamas's lair is located underneath the hospital but at this point it's too soon to know if that's the target or if this is a more limited operation. This is a developing story so there's not much more I can say about it at this time.What I can say is that the Biden administration gave a green light to this operation earlier in the day, when White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the administration has “independent intelligence” (which is code for “we didn't get this from the IDF”) that “Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip — including Al-Shifa — and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages.” According to Kirby this intelligence shows that the militant groups have a “command and control” center in Shifa and “have stored weapons there.” Kirby insisted that that the administration was not endorsing an Israeli attack on the hospital, but anybody with ears to hear or eyes to read what he said should have no doubt as to what the intent was.I wrote everything below prior to news of the Israeli assault breaking so some of it might no longer be relevant but I think most of it still is:Gazan health authorities said on Tuesday that some 40 patients at Shifa—three of them babies—have died since that facility ran out of generator fuel on Saturday. Without electricity the hospital cannot maintain its incubator units and so there are now 36 newborns who are at critical risk. With the IDF surrounding the hospital it's also become impossible to transfer the dead to a cemetery, so personnel are planning to bury some 120 bodies in a mass grave on site. Gazan officials have proposed evacuating the facility under the auspices of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and sending its remaining patients to Egypt but there had been no movement on that front at time of writing. The Israeli government has apparently offered to send the hospitals more incubators, a fascinating attempt at a humanitarian gesture that would be completely pointless because the problem isn't the incubators, it's the electricity.In other news:* David Ignatius at The Washington Post reported (I use that term loosely) on Monday that “Israel and Hamas are close to a hostage deal.” With the caveat that if David Ignatius told me the sky was blue I'd glance out the window to double check, the terms he reported are that Hamas would release (or facilitate the release) of the women and children that it and other Gazan militant groups took hostage during their October 7 rampage through southern Israel. This would be done in stages and be matched by the release of Palestinian women and children being held by Israeli authorities. It would also involve a ceasefire of unspecified duration but “perhaps five days” according to Ignatius. The ceasefire could allow some time to address humanitarian issues in Gaza though I don't know what that would entail and whatever it was would almost certainly be inadequate.* Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Tuesday and later told reporters that the ICRC has had no access to the aforementioned hostages. It's highly unlikely that the Israelis would agree to anything involving hostages without at least proof of life, so this could be a big sticking point with respect to the potential prisoner deal outlined above. Families of the hostages, meanwhile, are marching from Tel Aviv to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to pressure him to take some action to secure the hostages' release.* Israeli occupation forces killed at least eight Palestinians in the West Bank on Tuesday, seven of them in Tulkarm. The IDF carried out a drone strike in that city, an occurrence that's still relatively rare in the West Bank though it's certainly become more common over the past year and in particular the past month.* Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a statement on Tuesday endorsing what he laughably termed the “voluntary emigration of Gaza Arabs to countries around the world.” I guess “leave or die” is a choice, right? A couple of Israeli politicians floated this idea on Monday in a Wall Street Journal editorial that was less a serious proposal than a written middle finger to Western critics of the Israeli military campaign. That piece didn't go into extensive detail about what a mass relocation would look like—again, it wasn't meant as a serious proposal—but Smotrich's intent is much easier to guess, and that's the permanent ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the relocation of its population as far away from Israel as possible. Smotrich, whose ministerial brief also includes running the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories office, isn't part of Netanyahu's “war cabinet” but that doesn't mean he's completely lacking in influence.* The US and UK governments on Tuesday announced new sanctions targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members along with a Lebanese entity that allegedly facilitates money transfers from Iran to Gazan militant groups. This is the third round of sanctions the Biden administration has imposed since October 7. Also on Tuesday, over 400 employees of the Biden administration sent a joint letter to their boss, Joe Biden, expressing opposition to the administration's approach to the Gaza conflict.YEMENHouthi rebels say they fired another barrage of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday. There's no confirmation of this, though the IDF did say that its air defenses downed a single missile near Eilat that we can probably assume was of Houthi provenance. The leader of Yemen's Houthi movement, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, delivered a speech on Tuesday pledging that his rebel fighters would continue attacking Israel. In particular, Houthi suggested that they could target Israeli commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which would certainly be an easier target for them than Israel itself.IRAQA Turkish drone strike killed two people, both allegedly members of the Sinjar Resistance Units militia, in northern Iraq's Nineveh province on Monday evening. The Sinjar militia was formed in 2014 with assistance from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is still allied with that group, which makes its personnel potential targets for the Turkish military.Elsewhere, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court removed two members of the Iraqi parliament on Tuesday, one of whom just happened to be speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi. It's not clear why, though another MP named Laith al-Dulaimi had reportedly sued Halbusi alleging that the speaker forged Dulaimi's name on a resignation letter. Dulaimi was, as it happens, the other MP who had his term ended by the court (I assume that's not a coincidence). The ruling created a potential political crisis for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaʿ al-Sudani. As speaker, Halbusi was Iraq's leading Sunni Arab politician, and his support was important to Sudani's government. Three members of his Progress Party quit their cabinet posts after the court ruling and it remains to be seen how that will impact Sudani's position.ASIAAFGHANISTANAfghan Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi apparently visited Pakistan this week, where—according to the Afghan government—he pressed Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on the issue of all those Afghan migrants the Pakistani government is presently deporting. Specifically it sounds like Azizi raised the issue of allowing deportees to at least take some of their money and/or possessions to Afghanistan with them. Deportees are currently arriving with nothing and are being housed in what are effectively refugee camps—leaving aside the incongruity of being a “refugee” in one's home country—on the Afghan side of the border.MYANMARReports on Monday only hinted at some new fighting in western Myanmar's Chin state, but as more details are emerging the situation there sounds pretty serious. According to the Chin National Front, rebel fighters had by the end of the day seized two Myanmar military outposts and were working to seize control of the Myanmar-Indian border. According to Indian media the fighting has sent some 2000 people streaming across that border to escape. In neighboring Rakhine state, the rebel Arakan Army has also been seizing military outposts and authorities have imposed a curfew in the state capital, Sittwe, as a result. Rebel factions across Myanmar have launched new offensives in recent weeks, starting with the “1027” (for October 27) operations by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army in Shan state. Myanmar's ruling junta is clearly struggling to mount a response.CHINAJoe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that his main goal in meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco this week is to restore “normal” communications between their governments. In particular this would involve a return to regular military-to-military contacts, something Beijing ended in the wake of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year. Any prospect of resuming those contacts was complicated by the fact that former Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu was under US sanction. But as he's no longer defense minister that complication is no longer an issue.AFRICALIBERIALiberian voters turned out on Tuesday for the second round of that country's presidential election, pitting incumbent George Weah against Joseph Boakai. Both candidates finished with just under 44 percent of the vote in last month's first round. Such a close finish might augur poorly for the incumbent in a head to head matchup, though that's just one of many factors that could sway this vote in either direction. Polls have closed in that contest but I have yet to see anything by way of preliminary or partial results.MALIMali's ruling junta says its security forces have seized control over the northern town of Kidal after battling with rebels in that region for several days. The Malian military and mercenary auxiliaries marched on Kidal after United Nations peacekeepers vacated the region as part of their ongoing withdrawal from Mali. Kidal has been a rebel stronghold since the initial northern Mali uprising in 2012 and government control there has been nebulous at best since then. There's been no comment as far as I know from the rebels and it's unclear what their disposition is at this point.ETHIOPIAAccording to Addis Standard, Fano militia fighters attacked a predominantly Oromo community in Ethiopia's Amhara region last week, killing at least 25 people and displacing some 3000 into the Oromia region. The Fano militia is still battling the Ethiopian government but Amhara paramilitary groups have also made a pastime of preying on ethnic Oromo communities (likewise, Oromo militias have preyed on ethnic Amhara). In this case they apparently demanded grain from the community and attacked after residents refused to comply.On a more upbeat note, the US Agency for International Development is reportedly planning to resume food distribution across Ethiopia next month under a “one-year trial period.” The agency suspended its Ethiopian food program earlier this year amid allegations that the aid was being diverted. It resumed providing food aid to Ethiopian refugees last month and is now planning to spend the next year testing whether procedural changes adopted by aid groups and the Ethiopian government are enough to stop that alleged diversion. Solid data is hard to come by but it's possible that hundreds or thousands of Ethiopians have died because of the decision (which the UN World Food Program joined) to suspend food aid.DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGOThe death toll from Sunday's Allied Democratic Forces attack on a village in the eastern DRC's North Kivu province has risen to 33, according to provincial officials. ADF fighters are also believed to have been responsible for attacking a village in neighboring Ituri province on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people.EUROPERUSSIAVladimir Putin signed a new law on Tuesday that permits elections to be held even in parts of Russia that are under martial law. This apparently clears the way for the portions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed to participate in next year's presidential election. The effect will be to try to stitch those regions a little more tightly to Russia and complicate any possible return to Ukrainian authority.UKRAINEThe European Union promised back in March to supply the Ukrainian military with 1 million 155 mm artillery shells within 12 months. You'll never guess how that went. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told a meeting of EU defense ministers on Tuesday that the bloc isn't going to fulfill its commitment and even went so far as to criticize the fact that it was made in the first place. The will was apparently there, but EU member states still don't have the collective capacity to churn out that many shells that quickly. The effort has apparently sparked a boost in production capacity but not enough to meet the 12 month deadline.SWEDENSweden's NATO accession may be moving slightly forward, as the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee will take up the issue on Thursday. It's been about three weeks since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submitted Sweden's accession to parliament and it should be clear by now that the folks in Ankara are in no particular hurry to work their way through that process. There may be some impetus on the part of other NATO members to have the issue resolved in time for the alliance foreign ministers summit on November 28, but Erdoğan has proven himself to be fairly impervious to that sort of pressure in the past.AMERICASUNITED STATESFinally, TomDispatch's William Hartung wonders whether the “Arsenal of Democracy” really cares all that much about the “democracy” part:The list of major human rights abusers that receive U.S.-supplied weaponry is long and includes (but isn't faintly limited to) Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Such sales can have devastating human consequences. They also support regimes that all too often destabilize their regions and risk embroiling the United States directly in conflicts.U.S.-supplied arms also far too regularly fall into the hands of Washington's adversaries. As an example consider the way the UAE transferred small arms and armored vehicles produced by American weapons makers to extremist militias in Yemen, with no apparent consequences, even though such acts clearly violated American arms export laws. Sometimes, recipients of such weaponry even end up fighting each other, as when Turkey used U.S.-supplied F-16s in 2019 to bomb U.S.-backed Syrian forces involved in the fight against Islamic State terrorists.Such examples underscore the need to scrutinize U.S. arms exports far more carefully. Instead, the arms industry has promoted an increasingly “streamlined” process of approval of such weapons sales, campaigning for numerous measures that would make it even easier to arm foreign regimes regardless of their human-rights records or support for the interests Washington theoretically promotes. These have included an “Export Control Reform Initiative” heavily promoted by the industry during the Obama and Trump administrations that ended up ensuring a further relaxation of scrutiny over firearms exports. It has, in fact, eased the way for sales that, in the future, could put U.S.-produced weaponry in the hands of tyrants, terrorists, and criminal organizations.Now, the industry is promoting efforts to get weapons out the door ever more quickly through “reforms” to the Foreign Military Sales program in which the Pentagon essentially serves as an arms broker between those weapons corporations and foreign governments.Thanks for reading! Foreign Exchanges is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

united states american friends thanksgiving donald trump israel uk washington battle san francisco russia joe biden ukraine european union western barack obama white house afghanistan indian turkey jerusalem iran families sweden wall street journal washington post iraq nigeria philippines democracy taiwan united nations pakistan israelis saudi arabia gaza ukrainian nato fighters moscow beijing solid rebel hamas pentagon palestinians coordinators arsenal ethiopia us army turkish arabic red sea syrian afghan tel aviv myanmar polls uae mp yemen mali kabul benjamin netanyahu scope chin xi jinping ethiopian pakistani iraqi bahrain nineveh lebanese west bank firms idf houthis international development shan gaza strip islamic state ankara ignatius drc territories erdo adf international committee gazan john kirby fano malian shifa al shifa nva icrc us agency azizi eilat george weah laith david ignatius oromo deportees rakhine amhara sinjar ituri northern alliance lancet countdown smotrich turkish president recep tayyip erdo north vietnamese army kidal north kivu oromia sudani william hartung tomdispatch un world food program ia drang sunni arab foreign exchanges joseph boakai arakan army

Half a year into the Sudan conflict, its people are displaced, hungry, and in crisis

Across Africa

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2023 11:57

The conflict between warring factions in Sudan has left thousands dead and millions have been forced to flee. Half a year on since the outbreak of the fighting, the humanitarian situation is worse than ever, with many refugees in Chad on the brink of famine. Also in this edition: what the gradual lifting of the state of seige in North Kivu and Ituri province means for DR Congo. And finally: Kibera Fashion Week celebrates the talents of local designers.

crisis hungry congo sudan displaced ituri north kivu

September 4, 2023

The Long Form with Sanny Ntayombya

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2023 3:07

*) Anti-UN protests in DR Congo leave 100 dead The death toll from anti-UN protests last week in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 100, the head of a platform of youth organisations has said. Lucas Pecos, director of the Collective of Youth Solidarity Organizations in Congo-Kinshasa, which accused the army of committing a massacre last Wednesday, at a church in the city of Goma, in North Kivu province, said it has counted 100 bodies so far. *) Pope praises Mongolia religious freedom dating back to Genghis Khan Pope Francis has praised Mongolia's tradition of religious freedom dating back to the times of its founder, Genghis Khan, as he opened the first-ever papal visit to the Asian nation with a word of encouragement to its tiny Catholic flock. The Pope met with Mongolian President in a traditional ger, set up inside the state palace. Francis was in Mongolia to meet one of the world's newest and smallest Catholic communities — around 1,450 Mongolians are Catholic — and make a diplomatic foray into a region where the Holy See has long had troubled relations, with Russia to the north and China to the south. *) Mission accomplished, India puts moon rover to 'sleep' India switched off its moon rover, the first craft to reach the lunar south pole, after it completed its two-week assignment conducting experiments, the country's space agency said. The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was "set into Sleep mode" but with batteries charged and receiver on, the Indian Space Research Organisation said. By landing on the moon, India joined the United States, China and the former Soviet Union. It went beyond them in reaching the rugged south pole. *) 'This time it is serious': Typhoon Haikui makes landfall in eastern Taiwan Typhoon Haikui made landfall on eastern Taiwan, unleashing torrential downpours, whipping winds and plunging thousands of households into darkness as the first major storm to directly hit the island in four years. Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas, hundreds of flights cancelled and businesses closed in preparation for the storm. Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said the typhoon had made landfall in coastal Taitung, a mountainous county in lesser-populated eastern Taiwan. *) Turkish 'Sultans of the Net' reign supreme in European volleyball Türkiye defeated Serbia in a thrilling five-set match to win the 2023 CEV Women's European Volleyball Championship title. The Turkish women's volleyball team won the final on Sunday night with set scores of 27-25, 21-25, 25-22, 22-25, and 15-13 at Brussels. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Türkiye on winning the trophy.

Vincent Karega, former ambassador to DRC, on the root cause of the conflict between the DR Congo and the Kinyarwanda speaking community (Part One)

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2023 70:06

Once again, the decades long conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and its myriad of players in in the news once again. This time because of the UN Group of Experts Report that was leaked to media at the start of last week. The Report details the arming and financing of the FDLR by the DRC Government, M23 activity and makes allegations about Rwanda's involvement in the conflict. These allegations were rubbished by the Rwandan government in a statement that was released on Thursday. The M23 is just the latest manifestation of what is the historic tension between the Congolese state and the Kinyarwanda speaking people of North and South Kivu. What is this tension about? When did it start and will it ever end? How did Rwanda get roped into Congolese internal affairs?To answer these questions, I am joined by Vincent Karega, Ambassador-Designate of Rwanda to Belgium. Once Rwanda's ambassador to South Africa, his last diplomatic posting was to the DRC in 2019. His posting was cut short after a mere three years as relations between the two countries soured. Amb Karega stint in DRC's capital wasn't his first taste of Congo. In fact, he was born in 1963 in Walikale in North Kivu and left Zaire (as DRC was then know) for the first time as a 27-year-old as a naturalized Zairean citizen. If you want to share your thoughts on the topics I discuss use the hashtag #LongFormRw on Twitter and follow us on Twitter and Instagram on our handle @TheLongFormRwBe a part of the conversation.

community speaking south africa north ambassadors belgium congo rwanda root cause rwandan drc congolese m23 former ambassador drcongo kinyarwanda north kivu eastern democratic republic

Jerry Springer, the trashy talk show host, died at 79; Muslims in Congo killed 80 people; Notorious late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart died at 81

The WorldView in 5 Minutes

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2023 6:32

It's Monday, May 1st, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com) Muslims in Congo killed 80 people, abducted hundreds In the last two weeks, Muslims in the North Kivu province of Congo, Africa have killed 80 people and abducted hundreds. The guilty party? A terrorist group known as the Allied Democratic Forces, reports International Christian Concern. For decades, the Islamic State-allied group, has killed, maimed, abducted, and displaced millions of people in North Kivu. According to Open Doors, Congo is the 37th most dangerous country in the world for Christians. House raised debt ceiling, tighten future spending increases Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling while also putting a tight cap on future spending increases, reports CNSNews.com. Listen to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCARTHY: “The House Republicans just passed the only bill in Washington that lifts the debt limit, ends wasteful Washington spending, and puts America back on the right economic path. “We're going to limit the growth in the future. We're going to save by pulling back this unspent COVID money. We're going to grow this economy by making us energy independent again, and getting more people back to work. The president can no longer ignore by not negotiating.” Notorious late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart died at 81 Leroy Carhart, one of the few abortionists in America willing to conduct abortions once an unborn child can survive outside of the womb, has died at the age of 81, reports The Christian Post. On average, by his own admission, he killed 2,000 babies per year. Carhart, who once called the unborn child a "parasite," operated abortion mills in Maryland and Nebraska, both of which advertise abortions up to 35 weeks of pregnancy. In a 2005 60 Minutes Australia interview, he acted as though he was on a noble mission. CARHART: “I truly believe what I'm doing needs to be done. And I'm one that's willing to do it, and there are a lot of people that are not.” At least two women, 19-year-old Christin Gilbert and 29-year-old Jennifer Morbelli, died after Carhart performed late-term abortions on them. Listen to his sad and blasphemous conclusion in that 2005 60 Minutes interview. INTERVIEWER: “You are proud of the work you do?” CARHART: “Yes. You know, I think I am here because it's God's choice." INTERVIEWER: “I was going to ask you, ‘Is your God happy with your work?” CARHART: “My God is … Yes, She is.” (Carhart laughs) According to Proverbs 6:16-19, our Heavenly Father hates seven things that are detestable to Him. Three of them include “hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, and feet that are quick to rush into evil.” Abortionist Leroy Carhart was guilty on all three counts. Jerry Springer, the trashy talk show host, died at 79 In other obituary news, notorious talk show host Jerry Springer died on April 27th at the age of 79, reports the Associated Press. Born in London during World War II to Jewish refugees escaping the Holocaust, Springer was raised in Queens, New York City. After becoming an attorney, he worked on the presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968. After getting elected as a City Councilman in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1971, he confessed to having solicited a prostitute in Kentucky, the state just south, and resigned. SPRINGER: “I engaged in activities which at least, to me, are questionable these actions have weighed heavily on my conscience. This behavior, this particular incident certainly sets a bad example for anybody else to follow and one which I am obviously not very proud of. “It is my fondest wish to re-enter public life. But I believe it in the best interest of this community, that I resign until such time that the air has been cleared.” But in 1975, he ran for Cincinnati Mayor and won resoundingly. Then, Springer worked for 10 years as a political reporter, commentator, and ultimately anchor of Cincinnati's NBC affiliate. When the TV show, Jerry Springer, debuted in 1991, it started as a political talk show. Guests on the show included Oliver North and Jesse Jackson, Topics included homelessness and gun control. But, in early 1994, Springer and a new producer turned to tabloidish sensationalism. SPRINGER: “When our show started, we were a serious show. But then, all of a sudden, it started going crazy. When Universal bought us, they said, ‘From now on, only crazy!'” Guests were everyday people confronted on a television stage by a spouse or family member's adultery, homosexuality, transsexuality, prostitution, and cross dressing. For 27 years, Jerry Springer celebrated, instead of chastised, the deeds of the flesh enumerated in Galatians 5:19: “immorality, impurity, and sensuality.” SPRINGER: “My show is stupid.” INTERVIEWER: “Why do you think it's stupid?” SPRINGER: “Well, because it has no redeeming social value.” He had created a new talk show genre called trash TV. By 1998, it was beating The Oprah Winfrey Show in many cities, and was reaching more than 6.7 million viewers. David Plotz, a columnist for Slate, wrote, “During his slide into Hades, Springer's liberalism degenerated into a kind of nihilism. If a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged, a nihilist is a liberal who is paid $2 million a year to do something revolting.” In a conversation with Larry King, Springer justified the moral decadence which he promoted because of the fame and fortune. SPRINGER: “It's a great job. Somebody comes to you and says, ‘Hey, Jerry, I got this job. You're on television an hour a day. It will be the number one show in America. You'll meet the most interesting, fascinating, crazy people you've ever met in your life. The stories are just wild. Plus, we'll pay you handsomely.' that you honestly say no, I'm not going to do that. I'm taking the job at the library.” 1 Timothy 6:10 warns, “For the love of money is the root of all of evil.” In 1998, Senators Dan Coats, a Republican from Indiana, and Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, demanded the feds stop funding Springer's closed captioning. SPRINGER: “I was hired to be a ringleader of a circus. I am hosting a show about outrageousness.” Sadly, Jerry Springer's exploitation of sin led to the further coarsening of American culture. Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Monday, May 1st in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

The M23 Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Just Security Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2023 24:26 Transcription Available

Civilians in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are living in a nightmare. In the past year, the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement – or M23 for short – has raped and killed dozens of civilians in the DRC's North-Kivu province.And this isn't the first time. A decade ago this same group operated in the same part of the Congo, with funding and some military support from Rwanda. But back then, in 2013, the Obama administration used diplomacy and legal tools, like sanctions to pressure Rwanda to stop its support of M23. The group collapsed without that Rwandan backing. And many analysts thought it was gone for good. Until now. Rwanda has restarted its support of M23 and the group is clashing with the Congolese military, attacking civilians along the way.Only this time, the US response has been more talk and less action. The Biden administration has warned Rwanda to withdraw support from M23, but it hasn't used the same diplomatic and legal tools that worked a decade ago. To explain the conflict in DRC, and what the United States can do to pressure Rwanda to withdraw, we have Daniel Levine-Spound and Ari Tolany. Daniel is a human rights lawyer and researcher who specializes in the DRC and South Sudan. Ari is the Program Manager for the U.S. Program at the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), a nonprofit organization which works to prevent civilian harm. Show Notes: Daniel Levine-Spound (@dlspound) Ari TolanyDaniel and Ari's Just Security article on the M23 conflict and the U.S. response Just Security's DRC coverageJust Security's Rwanda coverage23:45 NYU's American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “Caravan” by “Arend” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/arend/caravan (License code: QVHYMGIQGD5TGMEP)

united states joe biden movement barack obama nyu congo rwanda program managers democratic republic south sudan civilians rwandan drc congolese m23 arend democratic republic of congo just security north kivu

Kenya to launch first operational satellite

earth launch kenya south africans congo blackout satellites operational democratic republic nasty c north kivu

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2023 25:35

Kenya is preparing to launch its first-ever Earth observation satellite in what is being described as a landmark achievement in the country's space exploration efforts. The latest on the plight of refugees and civilians affected by fighting in North Kivu province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More people today face danger from mines and unexploded devices compared to two years ago. What are the areas facing the biggest danger and what kinds of mines or devices pose the problems? South African rapper, Nasty C, speaks to us about his career and how the ongoing load-shedding situation in the country inspired his latest hit “Blackout”

Cyclone Freddy kills dozens in Malawi

kills congo tanzania dozens angola malawi cyclone north kivu cyclone freddy

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2023 28:23

Malawi's government has declared a state of emergency after Cyclone Freddy killed dozens of people and caused huge damage, with rescue efforts hampered by continuing poor weather. Plus, we look at what Angola's decision to send troops into eastern Congo means for the dynamics of the ongoing conflict in North Kivu province. And we have a special report from Tanzania's first commercial aquaculture farm, which it's hoped will enable more people to eat fish.

Walinda amani wa UN kutoka Tanzania huko DRC wakabidhiana lindo

Habari za UN

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2023 0:04

Nchini Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Congo, DRC walinda amani kutoka Tanzania kikosi cha 9 wanaohudumu kwenye ujumbe wa Umoja wa Mataifa wa kulinda amani nchini humo, MONUSCO wanaendelea kushika doria na kulinda raia katika jimbo la Kivu Kaskazini ambapo wiki hii kikosi cha 9, TANZBATT 9 kimemaliza muda wake na kukabidhi majukumu kwa kikosi cha 10, TANZBATT 10. Je nini kimejiri katika makabidhiano hayo ? Kapteni Denisia Lihaya, Afisa habari wa TANZBATT 9 kabla ya kurejea nyumbani ametuandalia ripoti hii ya makabidhiano.

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Great Lakes Tensions Spike After Rwanda Nearly Downs a Congolese Fighter Jet

Hold Your Fire!

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2023 54:09

On 24 January, Rwanda's defence forces fired a missile at a DR Congo army jet for allegedly violating Rwandan airspace. Congolese officials called the incident an “act of war”. The shooting has ratcheted up already high tensions between Rwandan and Congolese authorities, with the two governments at loggerheads since the resurgence of the M23 rebel group in late 2021. The M23 was defeated in 2013 but has re-emerged in the past year, taking control of significant areas in the eastern DR Congo's North Kivu region. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting the M23. Rwanda denies the allegations, though repeated UN reports offer strong evidence that the rebels are, indeed, supported by Rwanda. The fighting has triggered a humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands displaced, many in the last few months. This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood speaks with Richard Moncrieff, Crisis Group's interim Great Lakes project director, about the resurgence of the M23 in the DRC and how the conflict could affect the stability of the wider Great Lakes region. They talk about the origins of the M23, what its leaders want and its ties to Rwanda. They discuss how the conflict has worsened already fragile Rwandan-Congolese relations. They also delve into the efforts of the East African Community to defuse tensions in the DRC, particularly Kenya's military and diplomatic involvement in the region, and examine the risks that the crisis in the DRC could trigger a wider conflagration. For more on the situation, check out Crisis Group's latest Q&A “A Dangerous Escalation in the Great Lakes” and our extensive analysis on our Great Lakes regional page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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News in Brief 5 January 2023

UN News

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2023 0:02

Pakistan floods: 9 million more, risk being pushed into povertyWarm start to 2023 breaks records across Europe: WMOUN peacekeepers launch joint mission with DRC troops in North Kivu

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North Kivu governor on attacks on UN peacekeepers