A potential Ebola outbreak has been reported in the DRC, at a time when the Trump administration has paused communication with the WHO.

A Uruguayan soldier who was part of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) also died in the battle with M23 rebel fighters. Chief of SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya said the M23 fighters are allegedly trained and backed by the Republic of Rwanda, a neighbour of the DRC.

South Africa often uses its diplomatic heft to position itself as defender of the "global south" on the world stage, but the deaths of 13 of its soldiers in eastern Congo fighting have exposed an inability to project hard power in its own backyard.

Economic rivalry and ethnic tensions lay at the center of the long-simmering conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the strategically located city of Goma has recently fallen to r

This introduction lays a foundation for the discussion of the East African Community and the battle for the soul of the DR Congo. However, it may be necessary to note that the Congolese hold very strong views that some countries in the East African Community are responsible for the armed rebellion in the eastern part of their country.

President Félix Tshisekedi did not attend the recent EAC summit hosted by President William Ruto to discuss the worsening security crisis in eastern DRC.

South Africa and Rwanda have long had a difficult relationship.In 2014, South Africa expelled three Rwandan diplomats after an attack on the home of an exiled Rwandan dissident in Johannesburg. Kagame's government responded by expelling six South African envoys.

M23 rebels have made rapid advances in the latest bout of conflict that has long-dogged the mineral-rich east.

The conflict comes amid rising global tensions after Donald Trump’s election, especially between Washington and Beijing, over control of strategic minerals like those present in the Congo.

Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo - The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said Monday that the “Rwandan Army” is in the strategic Congolese city of Goma (northeast), taken by the rebel group Mar.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has vowed “a vigorous and coordinated response” against a rebel alliance that has besieged swaths of the nation’s mineral-rich east and forced hundreds of local troops and foreign mercenaries to surrender.