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Democratic Republic of Congo's former President Joseph Kabila briefs the media after talks with South Africa's former President Thabo Mbeki at the Thabo Mbeki Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa, on March 18, 2025.
DRC suspends ex-president Kabila’s party, charges him with treason
The Democratic Republic of Congo suspended former President Joseph Kabila’s People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy on Saturday, accusing it of complicity with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The government has also charged Kabila with high treason and ordered the seizure of his assets.
Kabila ruled the DRC for 18 years after the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila in 2001 before handing power to Félix Tshisekedi following elections in 2019. The two men fell out in 2020, and Kabila has been living outside the country for the last couple of years. Kabila announced his impending return to the DRC in early April, and he reportedly returned on Friday, landing in the rebel-held eastern town of Goma, “to participate in peace efforts” amid ongoing talks between the DRC and M23. The rebel group has neither confirmed nor denied Kabila’s arrival.
Observers fear that Kabila’s engagement in peace negotiations could inflame tensions. Last year, Tshisekedi accused Kabila of backing the rebels and “preparing an insurrection” with them, a claim he denies.
On Saturday, Kabila’s spokesperson Barbara Nzimbiposted to X that the former president would soon address the nation. We’ll be watching what he says, how Tshisekedi responds, and whether the controversy impedes peace talks with M23.Members of the M23 rebel group stand guard as people attend a rally addressed by Corneille Nangaa, Congolese rebel leader and coordinator of the AFC-M23 movement, in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 27, 2025.
Could peace finally come to the DRC?
Representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group held peace talks in Doha, Qatar, last week to resolve the armed conflict that has engulfed eastern DRC since January. Qatari mediators began facilitating private discussions ahead of the first formal meeting between the two groups, planned for April 9. It is the second such attempt since March, and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as “positive,” as evidenced by the M23’s withdrawal from the town of Walikale as a gesture of goodwill.
What’s behind the conflict? Hostilities stem from the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and competition for the DRC’s extensive mineral resources. The M23, an ethnic Tutsi-led rebel group formed in 2012, is allegedly funded by Rwanda – a charge Kigali denies.
There were supposed to be peace talks in Angola three weeks ago, but those collapsed after the European Commission sanctioned Rwandan officials for plundering mineral wealth in the DRC. The decision prompted Rwanda to expel Belgian diplomats and raised fears of a greater regional war.
Over 7,000 people have died in the DRC since January, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced, including 35,000 people who have fled to Burundi and 487,000 who have sought refuge in Uganda, straining resources in neighbouring states – an outcome next week’s talks are designed to head off.
Congolese and Belgian citizens take part in a protest in Brussels, while clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo take place in DRC.
Peace talks collapse between M23 rebels and DRC, diplomats expelled
Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have withdrawn from peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo that were set to start Tuesday in Angola, citing sanctions imposed by the European Commission on Rwandan officials for plundering mineral wealth in the DRC. This is the second time talks have collapsed since December, when they were canceled after Rwanda demanded a direct dialogue between the DRC and the M23 rebels, which DRC President Félix Tshisekedi refused.
In a related development, Rwanda severed diplomatic ties with Belgium, which had urged the Commission to impose the sanctions, accusing Brussels of “consistently undermining” Rwanda in forums like the EC “using lies and manipulation” in an attempt to “sustain its neo-colonial delusions.” Belgium subsequently declared Rwandan diplomats persona non grata and described Rwanda’s response as “disproportionate.”
What’s behind the conflict? Low-level violence in the DRC has persisted for three decades, killing six million people and displacing millions of others, but it increased again last November. This year, M23 seized the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu, resulting in thousands of fatalities and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
The rebels claim the DRC harbors anti-Rwanda rebels linked to the Hutu genocide of the Tutsis in 1994. The DRC also has deposits of gold and critical minerals, which M23 seeks to appropriate – it already reportedly earns $300,000 a month from territory it controls in the eastern part of the country.
Congolese civilians who fled from Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following clashes between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, carry their belongings as they gather at the Rusizi border crossing point to return home, in Rusizi district, Rwanda, on Feb. 17, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Rebels advance in DRC, Yuge trade corridor, Tragic flooding strikes US, UN seeks billions for Sudan, Taliban visits Japan, Plane crashes in Toronto
350,000: M23 rebels are meeting little resistance in their advance on Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, further challenging Kinshasa’s rule. This move comes after the Rwandan-backed rebels seized control of Goma late last month and just two days after the UN warned that unrest in the country has displaced 350,000 people.
600: Israel and India are working on a free trade agreement they hope to announce as early as 2025. Israeli and Indian business leaders held over 600 meetings in New Delhi last week, on cybersecurity, smart agriculture, renewable energy, digital health, and water technologies, AI, and big data. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump continues to push for the rail and shipping corridor advocated by his predecessor, Joe Biden, to connect India to the Middle East, Europe, and the US, which he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi call “one of the greatest trade routes in all of history.”
10: Severe flooding claimed the lives of at least 10 people in the United States over the weekend, including nine in Kentucky and one in Georgia. Storms walloped Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear saying that nearly 1,000 people had to be rescued.
6 billion: The United Nations announced on Monday that it wants to raise $6 billion for Sudan to help alleviate one of the world’s worst hunger crises caused by nearly two years of civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The need, the agency says, has increased 40% from last year’s appeal.
1: While Afghanistan’s Taliban government makes regular visits to countries close to home, such as Russia, China, and parts of Central Asia, this weekend it went further afield. The Taliban sent its first-ever delegation to Japan on Sunday to seek humanitarian support and to discuss establishing diplomatic ties with Japanese leaders. One Afghan leader said that the Taliban seeks “dignified interaction with the world for a strong, united, advanced, prosperous, developed Afghanistan.” Japan’s foreign ministry has not commented yet on the visit.
18: A Delta Airlines flight from Minneapolis crash-landed at Toronto's Pearson airport on Monday, injuring at least 18 people, three critically. The plane crashed and flipped upon landing at the airport, which is located just outside Toronto. All 80 passengers and crew are accounted for, and crews are on hand to investigate what happened.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk addresses a stadium audience in Washington, DC, on Inauguration Day.
Hard Numbers: DOGE cuts boost Palantir stocks, Shooter rampages at Swedish school, Trump makes “rare” demand of Ukraine, Rebels in DRC announce ceasefire
10: At least 10 people were believed to be dead following a shooting at an adult education center in central Sweden on Tuesday. As of this writing, police have not released information about the shooter’s identity or motive, except to say that it was a man who is believed to have acted alone.
500,000: What does Donald Trump want in exchange for continuing to support Ukraine? Something rare. The US president suggested on Monday he wanted US access to Ukraine’s rare earths and critical minerals – those used in batteries, microchips, and other advanced technologies. China currently dominates the global supply. Ukraine has at least 15,000 hectares worth of deposits already mapped out, and 500,000 tons of Lithium which could be worth tens of trillions of dollars. Kyiv said it was “ready to work with America.”
900: After more than 900 people were killed last week in the battle for Goma, a key city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have wrested control of the city from the Congolese army announced a unilateral ceasefire on Tuesday. The move is meant to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid. DRC and Kenyan leaders are to meet next week in a fresh attempt to end the more than three-year-old conflict.Health workers bring a patient for surgery, at the CBCA Ndosho Hospital, a few days after the M23 rebel group seized the town of Goma, in Goma, North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Feb. 1, 2025.
Rebels advance, diplomacy stalls in the DRC
Is diplomacy an option at all? On Friday, the 16-nation South African Development Community called for a summit with eight member countries of the East African Community to “deliberate on the way forward regarding the security situation in the DRC. Rwandan leader Paul Kagame skipped the virtual meeting but was present at an earlier one on Wednesday, which DRC President Felix Tshisekedi did not attend. While Kigali expressed support for a summit, other states accuse it of backing M23 – something it denies.
How is the international community reacting? Germany has canceled aid discussions with Rwanda, and the United Kingdom is reevaluating its assistance as well. US President Donald Trump described the crisis this week as a “very serious problem,” and the State Department has advised US citizens to evacuate. But Western governments’ long-running support for Rwanda is tempering their response – creating the potential for China and Russia to gain more regional influence.
Protesters clash with riot police forces in front of the French Embassy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Jan. 28, 2025.
Goma falls as embassies attacked in Kinshasa
M23 rebels have seized the airport in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and overrun the city in the worst sectarian violence since 2012. Streets are strewn with bodies, and there are reports of heavy gunfire, rape, and looting. Hospitals are under attack, and an Ebola research lab lost power, putting samples at risk, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Should the virus be released among the local population, the agency said the impact would be “unimaginable.”
Rwandan President Paul Kagame denies funding M23 or that Rwandan troops have entered Congo. But in the capital of Kinshasa, protests against alleged Rwandan interference turned violent on Tuesday, as crowds attacked the embassies of Rwanda, Uganda, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the US, accusing them of “complicity” in M23’s assault. Demonstrators also looted the Kenyan Embassy as well as local supermarkets, and set buildings on fire in a scene described as “total chaos.”
What’s the role of the West? The EU signed a strategic minerals deal with Rwanda in 2024 and the country has taken in asylum-seekers from Europe, making sanctions a complicated prospect and fueling accusations that the West is enabling the conflict to continue. France and the European Union condemned the attacks, as did US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a call with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday, but we’ll be watching what further action Western governments are prepared to take if the violence escalates.Internally displaced civilians from the camps in Munigi and Kibati carry their belongings as they flee following the fight between M23 rebels and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Jan. 26, 2025.
Goma under siege as DRC cuts ties with Rwanda
Keita made the remarks at a special meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday, called after three peacekeepers from South Africa and Uruguay were killed in standoffs with M23. On Saturday, South African authorities reported that rebels had also killed nine more peacekeepers, from South Africa and Malawi, who were attempting to prevent the rebel advance.
What is the root of the conflict? M23, a Tutsi-led rebel movement, claims to defend Congo’s ethnic Tutsi population, but Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of using the group as a proxy for its territorial ambitions. After three years of hostilities, fighting ramped up in January and reached a breaking point on Saturday, when the DRC severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda. Over 400,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year, and the latest rebel advance has now sparked fears of a regional war.