UN chief warns fighting continues in eastern DRC despite peace deals

At a United Nations Security Council meeting, James Swan, the new head of the MONUSCO peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said that while peace agreements and verification mechanisms have been signed, violence persists in the east. He noted that combat between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army, supported by self‑defence militias, continues around Rubaya and the high plateaus of South Kivu. Swan warned that “the momentum must be maintained and the commitments of the signatories fully implemented.”

The UN mission has provided office space and protective equipment for a cease‑fire verification mechanism under the Doha process, but the armed groups must accept real control for it to work. Additional threats come from the ADF, an ISIS‑linked Ugandan‑origin group operating in North Kivu and Ituri, which has killed hundreds of civilians in recent weeks. The MONUSCO office recorded 632 civilian deaths in North Kivu and Ituri since 19 March and documented 1 221 human‑rights violations during the same period. Swan called for rapid deployment of verification teams to translate diplomatic agreements into on‑the‑ground security.