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.

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

The mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation.

EFF leader Julius Malema has called for the withdrawal of members of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC ... Peacekeepers from South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, and the United Nations Organisation ...

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.

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.

On January 27, M23 rebels, a group synonymous with the March 23 Movement claimed that they had taken over Goma, on the

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.

By Yassin Kombi and David Lewis GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday,

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

A conflict that has raged for decades reached a flashpoint this week when rebels backed by Rwanda marched on a key Congolese city in a bid to occupy territory and exploit minerals.