Congo Crisis: Journalists Die as Trump Peace Deal Crumbles
The ink had barely dried on Donald Trump's Washington peace accord when the Congolese ground began trembling once more. Between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, promises of calm in the Great Lakes region have evaporated against the brutal reality of renewed combat.
The AFC/M23 movement, which claims to defend the Tutsi minority but dances to Kigali's tune according to UN experts, has multiplied its offensives. The result: the fall of Uvira, that strategic South Kivu city which controlled access to Bujumbura. A severe blow to Congolese defence forces and their Burundian allies.
Accusations fly from all sides. Accord violations, ethnic tensions, control of precious minerals: eastern Congo remains a playground for every appetite. Small wonder the European Union sanctioned the Gasabo gold refinery and several Rwandan officials. European sanctions cast shadow over Rwanda's booming mining sector.
The humanitarian toll remains appalling: thousands dead, over 5 million internally displaced, and nearly 1.5 million refugees scattered across the region.
Reporters in the Firing Line
In this spiral of violence, journalists pay the ultimate price. The NGO Journaliste en Danger sounds the alarm: never has the profession been more dangerous in the region. More than half the journalists killed in DRC over thirty years died in the country's east.
Recent days have seen two reporters lose their lives, perfectly illustrating the conflict's brutality. At Kiliba, ten kilometres from Uvira, Lwesho Janvier Nyakirigo of Radio Kiliba FM died in a bomb explosion attributed to M23 fighters. The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes, gathering Western chancelleries, condemns the use of kamikaze drones blindly targeting civilians.
Further north in Goma, Magloire Paluku, owner of Kivu1 FM and emblematic figure of the AFC-M23, was gunned down outside his home. Hours before his death, an audio recording revealed his bitter criticism of the rebellion, betraying internal tensions undermining the movement.
Audio source published by Byobe Makenga: Facebook Recording
As the region sinks deeper into violence, the media ecosystem falters. Between stray bullets and censorship, information struggles to circulate, alarming observers who see in this situation an additional threat to Congolese democracy.
This breakdown of press freedom represents more than tragedy for individual journalists. It signals the collapse of civil society's ability to hold power accountable, whether rebel or government. When reporters cannot safely document atrocities, war crimes flourish in darkness.
The international community's response remains woefully inadequate. Trump's peace deal, like so many before it, proved worthless against the reality of mineral wealth and ethnic manipulation. Britain and her allies must recognise that without genuine accountability for those orchestrating this violence, no accord will hold.