GENEVA: The decades-old conflict in Congo’s mineral-rich east has “drastically deteriorated” since early 2022, and gotten even worse since last October, with sharp increases in sexual violence, the number of wounded, and child recruitment, the top Red Cross official in the country said Wednesday.
Francois Moreillon called Congo a “double-edged crisis,” with the last 30 years of conflict weakening the capacity of government, including at local levels, to deliver basic services such as water, education and food. When it came to protecting civilians, Moreillon said the crisis was “extremely acute.”
Eastern Congo has struggled with armed violence as more than 120 groups fight for power, land and valuable mineral resources, while others try to defend their communities. Some armed groups have been accused of mass killings.
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, known as the ICRC, said “all indicators are going through the roof” since Oct. 1 when fighting resumed between Congolese government forces with their allies, and the M23 rebel group.
Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, along with the US and UN experts, accuses neighboring Rwanda of giving military backing to M23. Rwanda denies the claim, but in February it effectively admitted that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo to safeguard its security, pointing to a build-up of Congolese forces near the border.
Moreillon told several reporters at the office of the ICRC’s UN envoy that the number of displaced Congolese rose from 5.6 million in early 2022 to nearly 7.4 million now, which makes Congo “one of the most serious crises for displacement on the planet.”
He said another escalating indicator is the level of sexual violence. In Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, he said the number of incidents of sexual violence in the first half of 2024 rose 90 percent compared with 2023 — from 7,500 incidents last year to around 15,000 this year.
Moreillon cited the case of a woman the ICRC cared for who had been raped twice and explained that women in groups went to fetch wood “taking condoms with them to try to convince the rapist to wear them while they were raped.” This was not just to prevent getting pregnant or sexually transmitted diseases, but also to prevent them from being ordered to leave the house if their husbands learned they were raped, he said
Moreillon said sexual violence can not only be a weapon of war but also a product of decades of war where “anyone with a gun feels he can do whatever he wants” — and the fact that there is impunity for these crimes “does not help.”
The ICRC has also witnessed an increase in child recruitment, with estimates that it’s increased roughly 80 percent in some areas. “That could be only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
A key reason is that fighting has gotten so intense that armed groups need new recruits to replace dead combatants, he said, and children can either be convinced or forced.
Several kids he interviewed said they joined because they thought they would get respect, he said. When families don’t give their children to armed groups they are “taxed” and then hand them over to the recruiters.
Another indicator is the number of wounded civilians seeking treatment, Moreillon said.
The ICRC supports three hospitals in eastern Congo including one in Goma where it had to increase the number of surgical teams from two last year to three this year who are working day and night, he said.
Last year, Moreillon said, 1,050 cases were treated at the Goma hospital, and just in February this year the ICRC treated 350 cases — a third of last year’s caseload in just one month.
“So that’s a clear indicator of the severity of the intensity of the conflict,” he said.
The ICRC head in Congo said what has changed is that more sophisticated weapons are being used combined with increased fighting in crowded urban settings.
He said 45 percent of those wounded by weapons are civilians, and about 40 percent of the wounds are caused by shrapnel which wasn’t the case last year when most wounds were caused either by bullets or knives.
What about deaths? Moreillon said it’s very difficult to get figures, but if the number of wounded “is drastically increasing” this must also be the case for the number killed.
Moreillon appealed to donors to help the Congolese in need, saying his budget for Congo this year — 85 million Swiss francs ($95 million) — is only 22 percent funded.
Red Cross envoy: Congo conflict has worsened with sharp increases in sexual violence and wounded
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Red Cross envoy: Congo conflict has worsened with sharp increases in sexual violence and wounded
- Francois Moreillon called Congo a “double-edged crisis,” with the last 30 years of conflict weakening the capacity of government
North Korea condemns joint military exercise by South Korea, US and Japan
- On Thursday, the three countries began large-scale joint military drills involving navy destroyers, fighter jets and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at boosting defenses against missiles, submarines and air attacks
SEOUL: North Korea criticized the trilateral “Freedom Edge” military exercise by South Korea, Japan and the United States held between June 27 and 29 as “provocative,” a statement by a department of the country’s foreign ministry, carried by KCNA, said on Sunday.
Pyongyang will not ignore the strengthening of a military bloc led by the US and its allies and will protect regional peace with an aggressive and overwhelming response, the statement said.
On Thursday, the three countries began large-scale joint military drills involving navy destroyers, fighter jets and the nuclear-powered US
aircraft carrier
Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at boosting defenses against missiles, submarines and air attacks.
The “Freedom Edge” exercise was devised at the three-way summit at Camp David last year to strengthen military cooperation amid tensions on the Korean peninsula stemming from North Korea’s weapons testing.
Last year, the three countries
staged
joint naval missile defense and anti-submarine exercises to improve responses to North Korean threats.
Afghan women’s rights an internal issue, Taliban government says before talks in Qatar
- The Taliban government imposed restrictions on women since seizing power in 2021, prompting the UN to call it ‘gender apartheid’
- The UN launched the talks in Qatar in May 2023 to increase international coordination on engagement with the Taliban authorities
KABUL: Taliban authorities said on Saturday that demands over women’s rights were “Afghanistan’s issues” to solve, ahead of United Nations-led engagement talks where the exclusion of Afghan women has sparked outcry.
The Taliban government, which has imposed restrictions on women since seizing power in 2021 that the UN has described as “gender apartheid,” will send its first delegation to the third round of talks starting in Qatar on Sunday.
Civil society representatives, including from women’s rights groups, will attend meetings with the international envoys and UN officials on Tuesday, after the official talks.
Rights groups have condemned the exclusion of Afghan women from the main meetings and the lack of human rights issues on the agenda.
The Taliban authorities “acknowledge the issues about women,” government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul on the eve of the latest talks.
“But these issues are Afghanistan’s issues,” said Mujahid, who will lead the delegation.
“We are working to find a logical path toward solutions inside Afghanistan so that, God forbid, our country doesn’t again fall into conflict and discord.”
He said the Taliban government would represent all of Afghanistan at the meetings and, given their authority, should be the only Afghans at the table.
“If Afghans participate through several channels, it means we are still scattered, our nation is still not unified,” he said.
The talks were launched by the UN in May 2023 and aim to increase international coordination on engagement with the Taliban authorities, who ousted a Western-backed government when they swept to power.
The Taliban government has not been officially recognized by any state and the international community has wrestled with its approach to Afghanistan’s new rulers, with women’s rights issues a sticking point for many countries.
Taliban authorities were not invited to the first talks in Doha last year and refused to attend the second conference, demanding that they be the sole Afghan representatives to the exclusion of invited civil society groups.
That condition has been met for the third round.
Mujahid reiterated that the Taliban government sought positive relations with all countries.
However, he added that “no major or key discussions” would take place in Doha and that the meeting was an opportunity to exchange views, particularly with Western countries.
The agenda will include combating narcotics and economic issues, key topics for authorities in the impoverished country.
“We have hurdles blocking economic development, which should be removed,” Mujahid said.
“If the economy were fine, then all other issues could be solved.”
Russian attack on southeastern Ukrainian town kills seven, officials say
- President Volodymyr Zelensky repeated his appeal to allies to provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons and enhanced air defenses
- Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said two missiles were fired on the town, damaging infrastructure, a shop and residential buildings
KYIV: Russian forces on Saturday fired missiles at the town of Vilniansk, outside the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing seven people, including two children, and injuring up to 18 others, officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky repeated his appeal to allies to provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons and enhanced air defenses to stop what he said were daily attacks.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said two missiles were fired on the town, damaging infrastructure, a shop and residential buildings.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko put the death toll at seven, including two children, with 18 others injured, including four children. “Today the enemy carried out yet another dreadful terrorist act against the civilian population,” Zaporizhzhia Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.
The attack occurred in “the middle of the day, a non-working day, in the town center, where people were out relaxing, where there were no military targets,” Fedorov said.
Zelensky posted photos from the site showing a large crater, downed trees and a pair of tarpaulins spread out on the ground of what looked like a park.
“Our cities and communities suffer daily from such Russian strikes. But there are ways to overcome this,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
“Destroying terrorists where they are. Destroying Russian missile launchers, striking with real long-range capability and increasing the number of modern air defense systems in Ukraine” were ways to defend the country from such attacks, Zelensky said.
Australian PM distances government from King Charles’ decision to award medal to soldier accused of Afghanistan war crimes
- Ben Roberts-Smith among those handed commemorative medals marking British monarch's coronation
- Australian Federal Court judge last year dismissed defamation case brought by Roberts-Smith over unlawful killing claims
LONDON: The Australian government has distanced itself from the awarding of an honor from the UK’s King Charles III to a former special forces soldier accused of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.
Buckingham Palace decided to present commemorative medals to all living Victoria Cross recipients, which includes Ben Roberts-Smith, who attended a ceremony at Western Australia’s Government House this week to receive the honor.
Last year an Australian Federal Court judge concluded that Roberts-Smith was involved in the unlawful killings of four Afghan prisoners. The ruling came after a lengthy trial brought about when the former soldier sued three newspapers for defamation.
Roberts-Smith brought a case against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times, as well as two journalists, over reports that alleged he had committed war crimes while deployed in Afghanistan. Last June, the judge dismissed the case.
Roberts-Smith, who has faced no criminal charges, has appealed the verdict and has maintained his innocence.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday it would be wrong for his government to get involved.
“Well, this isn’t a decision of the government, this was a decision of (Buckingham Palace) to give all VC recipients a further award,” he said.
“There’s ongoing legal action potentially on these issues, so given the government’s engagement, it’s important that there not be interference in that. But it certainly wasn’t a government decision,” he added.
Court order bans encampments in LSE building after pro-Palestine protest
- Students had been camped in Marshal Building for about a month
- ‘No breaches of the interim order,’ LSE spokesperson says
LONDON: Pro-Palestine students have lost their legal battle against the London School of Economics after a court indefinitely barred them from setting up an encampment on campus, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
The students had vowed to remain in a camp they had set up on the ground floor atrium of Marshal Building on May 14 until the LSE met their demands. They were reported to have been there for about a month until the LSE initiated legal action.
On Friday at Central London county court, District Judge Morayo Fagborun-Bennett granted a possession order, indefinitely banning the establishment of encampments at the location.
Another judge granted LSE an interim possession order on June 14, which meant the camp had to be removed within 24 hours. The students disbanded their camp on June 17.
Commenting on behalf of LSE, Olivia Davies said there had been “no breaches of the interim order” by the defendants since the interim possession order was granted.
Daniel Grutters, representing three students, said: “Those instructing me had only opposed the making of the interim possession order. Since that was made, we indicated that we would not defend the possession order. We are agreed that the possession order can be made.”
During Friday’s hearing, Davies told the court that no students had faced any disciplinary action over the encampment.
“That’s good to know,” the judge said.
The encampment was set up following the release of the Assets in Apartheid report by the LSE Students’ Union Palestine society.
It claims that the LSE has invested £89 million ($112.6 million) in 137 companies involved in the conflict in Gaza, fossil fuels, the arms industry or nuclear weapons production.
The entrenched students had said they would remain in their camp until the LSE took several steps, including divestment and democratization of the financial decision-making process.
