Update from Congo – as of Tuesday February 25 2025
The students of the Congo Peace School returned to their campus for the first time since the school closed to protect students and staff from the surrounding battles between the M23 rebels (and RDF) and the Congolese army (FARDC). It was very clear how shaken everyone was. At the secondary school, a total of 214 students (of the enrolled 240) came in today: 109 girls and 105 boys. One teacher did not come because he lives in Nyangezi, an area where much of the fighting took place. Yesterday, many people living in Nyangezi began leaving for locations much further from the main road, afraid of the return and confrontations between the FARDC and the M23 militia who is controlling the area.
At the preschool and elementary levels, 61 children in three preschool Nest classes were present (out of the usual 83) and 183 elementary school students (of the enrolled 240) were present. The staff hopes that over this week, all the students will come. The return is voluntary, as people are terrorized and afraid and the situation is not stable. Everyone is fearful and lost so much already, their homes and small businesses and markets looted by the rebels.
Meals were served to the total 458 students from all levels. The situation is devastating and everyone will be in greater need of mental health support when the situation stabilizes. Meals are a critical part of the Peace School’s program, many of these students are not able to eat at home. As we keep an eye on the security situation and when the banks will reopen, Amani has asked the school principals to be careful about the use of the school’s remaining food to ensure it can be used wisely to cover the weeks the school has been closed.
We learned that the third grade Peace School teacher Bahati has returned home. Bahati had been missing and upon his return, we learned he was first taken by the Congolese soldiers, who made him transport them with his motorcycle, and then by M23. Yesterday he came back alive but very tired, hungry, thirsty, and thin as he was not fed and was denied access to clean drinking water.
Yesterday Amani reported that the area around the school was free from military presence and fighting (no M23, no FARDC soldiers visible). The M23 leaders called for schools to reopen in places where the fighting is not taking place, but people are afraid to open schools, especially in rural areas with secondary schools as they suspect the rebels will use the gathering of school populations to force youth to join their forces. A few schools in Bukavu reopened yesterday but not many students showed up.
It is very clear that both teachers and students are living with constant fear of a very volatile safety situation where anything might happen any time. Secondary school students are worried that the rebel group will forcefully recruit them, girls are very much afraid of rape as it is rampant, everyone is afraid of armed fighting breaking out at any time.
Amani and the school’s staff plan to reach out to experts in the field of education in conflicts and emergencies to advise on what to do, and how to manage the situation right now.
OTHER UPDATES
The Guardian reports “about 7,000 people have died in fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since Rwanda-backed M23 rebels started renewed advances in January, the DRC’s prime minister has said. At a high-level meeting of the UN’s human rights council in Geneva on Monday, Judith Suminwa Tuluka also said the war had left about 450,000 people without shelter after the destruction of 90 displacement camps.”
If you’re reading the news about DRC, you may have read reports like this one, with a headline saying that Congolese police “join rebels,” and have questions about why they might do so. Amani reminds us: “It’s war, and these police officers were captured and are being forced to join the M23 rebels.”
While the M23 took Bukavu in South Kivu, no one is yet “running it,” as the rebels have not yet appointed a governor or mayor. In Goma, in North Kivu, they were very quick to set up a parallel government. There are theories that they are not doing the same in Bukavu due to threats of sanctions to Rwanda by the international community. (If you missed it, on Friday the United Nations Security Council called on Rwanda's military to stop supporting the M23 rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and immediately withdraw all troops from Congolese territory "without preconditions." The 15-member council unanimously adopted a French-drafted resolution urging the DRC and Rwanda to return to diplomatic talks to achieve a lasting peaceful resolution. News here.)
Last week the U.S. sanctioned James Kabarebe, a long-time ally of Paul Kagame, whom the U.S. said was “central to Rwanda’s support for the M23 Movement.” The U.S. also sanctioned Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston (Kanyuka), an M23 and Congo River Alliance senior member, alongside two of Kanyuka’s companies registered in the U.K. and France.
Today the UK issued this statement, with demand for a political solution and a withdrawal of RDF (Rwandan Defense Forces) from Congo, and that “until significant progress is made, the UK will take the following measures:
Cease high-level attendance at events hosted by the Government of Rwanda.
Limit trade promotion activity with Rwanda.
Pause direct bilateral financial aid to the Government of Rwanda, excluding support to the poorest and most vulnerable.
Coordinate with partners on potential new sanctions designations.
Suspend future defence training assistance to Rwanda.
Review export licences for the Rwanda Defence Force.”
In a clear sign of attempts to legitimize their control over North Kivu, the M23 has installed a new governor in Goma, Bahati Musanga Joseph, as well as two deputies to govern the city and province. Due to a cash shortage, the new Governor has reportedly asked bankers in Goma to negotiate with financial institutions in Kinshasa (the capital of DRC) to arrange for funds to be sent, potentially through Uganda.
The fighting has continued to take place near Uvira on the borders between DRC and Burundi. In both Bukavu and Goma, it's not safe yet, especially for women and girls. There is pressure by the international community on Rwanda to withdraw their troops and then engage in a dialogue between the Congolese and Rwandan governments, but it is going to take time before this is translated into action.
An update on the EU-Rwanda MOU: The European Union will reconsider its recent critical raw materials agreement with Rwanda in response to conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), High Representative Kaja Kallas has said. But the bloc will not follow the US's lead in sanctioning on Rwandan officials, with EU foreign ministers rather reaching a “political decision” to introduce potential sanctions “depending on the situation on the ground.” (Report here.)
As many of us think more about the concept of the “attention economy” these days, we are grateful you are turning your attention to the suffering of the people of Congo who want nothing but peace and a future for their children.