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Photos: Aid groups sound alarm over escalating DR Congo violence
Civilians facing bombs, thousands forced to flee and lost children – aid organisations have again sounded the alarm over the impact of escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where fresh fighting erupted on Thursday.
Clashes between M23 rebels and pro-government forces that have gone on for more than two years have intensified in particular in North Kivu province.
In recent weeks “the increase in civilian casualties and the use of heavy weapons in populated areas, including in camps for displaced people, are alarming”, the International NGO Forum in DRC said in a statement.
The fighting has sparked massive displacement towards several areas, exacerbating the vulnerability of those forced to flee and the host communities, it warned.
“The situation requires urgent action to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access,” added the Forum, which represents more than 120 international NGOs operating in DRC.
Save the Children said the renewed fighting between the rebels and government troops had displaced at least 150,000 people, more than half of them children, since February 2.
“Parents have reported that many children have been separated in the violence, although the number of lost children is unknown,” the charity said in a statement.
Around seven million people have been displaced in DRC, mostly in the east, which has been plagued by violence by armed groups for nearly 30 years, according to the United Nations.
Fighting resumed around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, after a lull during the December 20 election which returned President Felix Tshisekedi to power for a second term.
Doctors without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, said the medical units it supported in North Kivu had seen a large influx of war wounded in recent days.
At the same time thousands were fleeing the latest armed clashes, it said.
On Wednesday, thousands of people arrived in Goma, fleeing violence in the town of Sake, about 20km (12 miles) away and strategically located on a major highway.
Six people were reported killed on Wednesday in Sake and many more injured, medical and security sources said.
Army spokesman General Sylvain Ekenge told reporters late Tuesday there had been “intense fighting” for control of a stretch of highway running between Sake and Minova, a small town in the neighbouring province of South Kivu.
Other clashes were reported north of Goma in Nyiragongo territory, pitting M23 rebels mostly against armed pro-government militias known locally as Wazalendo, and cutting off north-bound road traffic.
The report also identifies Vietnam as a priority country on the watchlist.
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North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has publicly praised soldiers who killed themselves rather than be captured while fighting Ukrainian forces in Kursk region, offering the clearest confirmation yet of what officials and intelligence agencies have long described as one of Pyongyang’s most extreme battlefield policies.
In remarks published Monday by North Korean state media KCNA and first reported by Reuters, Kim honored troops who “unhesitatingly chose the path of self-destruction and suicide” rather than surrender, as he addressed Russian officials and bereaved families during a memorial ceremony for North Korean soldiers killed in combat.
“It is not only the heroes who unhesitatingly chose the path of self-destruction and suicide to defend great honor, but also those who fell while charging at the forefront of assault battles,” Kim said.
The comments mark the first time Kim has directly acknowledged the lengths North Korean troops fighting for Russia have gone to in attempts to avoid capture by Ukrainian forces.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a photo session with officers and soldiers who participated in the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army in North Korea on April 27, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service)
North Korea deployed an estimated 14,000 troops to Russia’s western Kursk region to support Moscow’s war effort, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials cited by Reuters. Those same officials say the forces suffered staggering losses, with more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers believed killed in some of the war’s most intense fighting.
For months, intelligence reports, battlefield evidence and defector testimony have pointed to a grim directive: North Korean troops were expected to detonate grenades or otherwise take their own lives rather than risk capture.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during a signing ceremony following bilateral talks in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024. (Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Kremlin via REUTERS)
That policy appears to have extended even to the few who survived. According to The Guardian, two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces and now held as prisoners of war in Kyiv both reportedly attempted to blow themselves up but were unable to do so because of severe injuries. One of the captured soldiers has reportedly expressed guilt over failing to carry out those orders.
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North Korean troops train with Russian instructors to clear mines in the heavily contaminated Kursk region, according to Russian Defense Ministry footage. (East to West News Agency)
Kim’s latest speech appears to transform those reports from battlefield allegations into publicly praised state doctrine.
“Those who writhed in frustration at failing to fulfill their duty as soldiers rather than suffering the agony of their bodies being torn apart by bullets and shells — these too can be called the party’s loyal warriors and patriots,” Kim added.
The statement underscores the ideological intensity imposed on North Korean forces, whose loyalty to the regime appears to extend beyond combat to self-destruction.
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North Korean troops sweep minefields left behind in the Kursk region after months of fighting. (East to West News Agency)
The revelation also highlights the deepening military relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow.
According to South Korean intelligence assessments, North Korea has provided not only troops but also munitions to Russia, while receiving economic aid and military technology in return.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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A 33-year-old man will appear in court next week after he was detained on suspicion of plotting an attack on two Dutch princesses, prosecutors said on Friday.
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According to details in a court scheduling order published on the website of The Hague Public Prosecutor’s Office, the man is suspected of preparing an attack on the 22-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Amalia, and her 20-year-old sister, Princess Alexia, in The Hague in February.
“The suspect was allegedly in possession of two axes in early February with the words ‘Alexia,’ ‘Mossad’ and ‘Sieg Heil’ carved into them, and he allegedly had a handwritten sheet with the words ‘Amalia,’ ‘Alexia’ and ‘Bloodbath,’” the scheduling order said.
A spokesman for The Hague public prosecutor’s office declined to provide further details on the case ahead of Monday’s procedural hearing.
It was not clear where or when the man was arrested. The suspect’s name was not released, in line with Dutch privacy regulations.
The Royal House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Princess Amalia has faced threats before. The heir to the Dutch throne was forced in 2022 to give up Amsterdam’s student life and live at her parents’ palace due to threats believed to come from the criminal underworld.
Queen Maxima said at the time that Amalia “can’t leave home” and that it has “enormous consequences for her life.”
The eldest of the three Dutch princesses subsequently spent several months living in Madrid and later honoured the Spanish capital and its citizens for their hospitality by opening a tulip garden there.
In 2020, a man was convicted of threatening the princess and of sending threats via Instagram to the then-16-year-old Amalia and one of her friends.
Additional sources • AP
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