Democratic Republic of the Congo - January 2025

In January, at least 900 people were killed and over 700,000 displaced in and around the city of Goma, as fighting in the long-running armed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo intensified, worsening an acute humanitarian and human rights crisis. The escalation came as the M23 rebel group, allegedly supported by Rwanda, made territorial advances, including the capture of Goma. As well as being a major logistics hub, Goma had been sheltering hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons. Clashes between the M23 fighters and the Congolese army were reported by the UN to have damaged the city’s critical infrastructure, cutting off water and electricity supplies, and on 28 January, M23 closed its airport, severely restricting aid access. The UN also reported that food and medical supplies were low, at least two displacement camps had been bombed, and civilians had been subjected to sexual violence, ethnically targeted killings and arbitrary arrest. 

Sources: International Crisis Group, United Nations (1), United Nations (2), Reuters, United Nations (3)

On 13 January, Al Jazeera was suspended from broadcasting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 90 days over an interview it aired with the leader of the M23 rebel group, Bertrand Bisimwa. Citing allegations that the interview had been conducted with ‘the aim of destabilizing the institutions of the republic’, the Congolese media regulator, the Higher Council for Audiovisual and Communication (Le Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication, CSAC), said that it had suspended the broadcaster as a ‘precautionary measure’. In response to the same interview, the communications minister, Patrick Muyaya, had announced four days earlier that he had revoked Al Jazeera journalists’ media accreditation and warned that the government may consider taking more radical measures. These developments came amid growing pressure from authorities on the press over their coverage of the M23 rebels’ military advances in the ongoing conflict in the east of the country.      

Sources: Le Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication, Patrick Muyaya, Committee to Protect Journalists, Associated Press News