Congo's Media Under Fire: Journalists Pay Ultimate Price
The ink hadn't dried on the Washington Peace Accord, brokered under Donald Trump's auspices, when the Congolese terrain began trembling once more. Between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, promises of calm in the Great Lakes region evaporated against the brutal reality of renewed combat.
The AFC/M23 movement, which claims to defend the Tutsi minority but operates to Kigali's rhythm according to UN experts, has intensified its offensives. The result: the fall of Uvira, that strategic South Kivu city controlling access to Bujumbura. A severe blow to Congolese defense forces and their Burundian allies.
Accusations fly from all sides. Accord violations, ethnic tensions, precious mineral control - eastern Congo remains a battlefield of competing appetites. No surprise the European Union sanctioned Gasabo's gold refinery and several Rwandan officials. European sanctions cast shadows over Rwanda's mining sector.
The humanitarian toll remains staggering: thousands dead, over 5 million internally displaced, and nearly 1.5 million refugees scattered across the region.
Reporters in the Crosshairs
Within this violence spiral, journalists pay the ultimate price. The NGO Journaliste en Danger sounds the alarm: never has the profession been more dangerous in the region. Over half of all journalists killed in DRC over thirty years died in the country's east.
Recent days witnessed two reporters losing their lives, perfectly illustrating the conflict's brutality. In Kiliba, ten kilometers 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 AFC-M23 figure, was gunned down outside his residence. Hours before his death, an audio recording revealed his sharp 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 this situation as an additional threat to Congolese democracy.