Congo Journalists Murdered: Press Under Fire in Eastern DRC
The ink wasn't even dry on Trump's Washington Peace Accord when Congo's ground started shaking again. Between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, promises of calm in the Great Lakes region evaporated against brutal combat reality.
The AFC/M23 movement, claiming to defend the Tutsi minority but dancing to Kigali's tune according to UN experts, launched multiple offensives. Result: the fall of Uvira, that strategic South Kivu city controlling access to Bujumbura. A hard blow to Congolese defense and their Burundian allies.
Accusations fly from all sides. Accord violations, ethnic tensions, precious mineral control: Eastern Congo remains a battlefield of appetites. No wonder the European Union sanctioned Gasabo's gold refinery and several Rwandan bigshots. EU sanctions cast shadow over Rwanda's booming mining sector.
The humanitarian toll stays horrific: thousands dead, over 5 million internally displaced, and nearly 1.5 million refugees scattered across the region.
Reporters in the Crosshairs
In this violence spiral, journalists pay the ultimate price. The NGO Journalists in Danger sounds the alarm: never has the profession been more dangerous in the region. Over half the journalists killed in DRC these past thirty years died in the East.
These past days, two reporters lost their lives, perfectly illustrating the conflict's brutality. In Kiliba, ten kilometers from Uvira, Lwesho Janvier Nyakirigo from Radio Kiliba FM died in a bomb explosion attributed to M23 fighters. The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes, gathering Western chancelleries, denounces kamikaze drone usage blindly targeting civilians.
Further north in Goma, Magloire Paluku, owner of Kivu1 FM and emblematic AFC-M23 figure, was gunned down outside his home. Hours before his death, an audio recording revealed his harsh criticism of the rebellion, betraying internal tensions undermining the movement.
Audio source published by Byobe Makenga: Facebook Recording
As the region sinks into violence, the media ecosystem falters. Between stray bullets and censorship, information struggles to flow, worrying observers who see this situation as another threat to Congolese democracy.