The Latest Breaking News from Democratic Republic of Congo

Tens of thousands of Christians took to the streets across Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday to protest violence in eastern regions, as church leaders accused the international community of hypocrisy over Rwanda's alleged role in the fighting.

Pope Francis I has rescheduled his long-delayed trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan for 31 January to 5 February 2023 – cutting out a stop over in the troubled eastern DRC, but fulfilling a long-held wish to accompany other Christian leaders to South Sudan.

Democratic Republic of Congo's armed forces on Thursday said M23 rebels and their allies killed 50 civilians in a massacre in the eastern town of Kishishe this week, which the M23 denied.

Pope Francis will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan early next year, the Vatican said on Thursday, after having to cancel a planned trip to the two countries in July because of health problems.

A fresh round of EAC-led talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and armed militia operational in the eastern DRC has opened in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi without, however, the presence of the M23 Tutsi rebel group that Kinshasa says is being supported by Kigali.

Democratic Republic of Congo said it will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec. 20, 2023, kicking off a year of complex preparations in the vast Central African country, large parts of which are overrun by militia violence.

Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebel group on Friday said it wants to talk directly with the government after Congo's president and other African leaders signed a ceasefire deal aimed at stopping attacks by the militia.

For nearly three decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been embroiled in violence. Millions of people have been killed, and an estimated 5.6 million others displaced by civil wars, local feuds and cross-border conflicts.

Hundreds marched in Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Goma on Thursday to protest against an agreement between African leaders to stop attacks by M23 rebels, saying it does not tackle Rwanda's alleged backing of the group.

Leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and other countries in East Africa have called for a ceasefire in the eastern DRC from Friday evening, as well as the immediate withdrawal of the M23 rebel group.

Uganda's army said on Monday it will send 1,000 troops to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo by the end of this month to join a regional force mandated to help end decades of instability.