Congo Journalists Killed as Eastern DRC Violence Escalates
The ink had barely dried on the peace accord signed in Washington under Donald Trump's auspices when the Congolese ground began trembling once more. Between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, promises of calm in the Great Lakes region have evaporated against the brutal reality of renewed fighting.
The AFC/M23, a movement claiming to defend the Tutsi minority but which UN experts say dances to Kigali's tune, has intensified its offensives. The result: the fall of Uvira, this strategic South Kivu city that controlled access to Bujumbura. A significant blow to Congolese defence forces and their Burundian allies.
Accusations fly from all sides. Accord violations, ethnic tensions, control of precious minerals: eastern Congo remains a battleground for competing interests. Little wonder the European Union has sanctioned the Gasabo gold refinery and several Rwandan officials. EU sanctions cast shadow over Rwanda's mining sector.
The humanitarian toll remains staggering: thousands dead, over 5 million internally displaced, and nearly 1.5 million refugees scattered across the region.
Reporters in the Firing Line
In this spiral of violence, journalists are paying a heavy price. The NGO Journaliste en Danger sounds the alarm: never has the profession been more dangerous in the region. More than half of journalists killed in DRC over the past thirty years died in the country's east.
Recent days have seen two reporters lose their lives, perfectly illustrating the conflict's brutality. In Kiliba, ten kilometres from Uvira, Lwesho Janvier Nyakirigo of Radio Kiliba FM died in a bomb explosion attributed to M23 fighters. The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes, comprising Western chancelleries, condemns the use of kamikaze drones targeting civilians indiscriminately.
Further north in Goma, Magloire Paluku, owner of Kivu1 FM and an emblematic AFC-M23 figure, was gunned down outside his home. Hours before his death, an audio recording revealed his harsh criticism of the rebellion, betraying internal tensions undermining the movement.
Audio source published by Byobe Makenga: Facebook recording
As the region descends into violence, the media ecosystem falters. Between stray bullets and censorship, information struggles to circulate, worrying observers who see this situation as an additional threat to Congolese democracy.