DRC declares ‘state of siege’ in violence-hit eastern provinces

Hundreds have been killed and many displaced in mineral-rich Ituri and North Kivu provinces due to a surge in attacks.

Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has declared a “state of siege” over the escalating violence in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu. A surge in attacks by armed groups and inter-communal fighting in the DRC’s east have killed more than 300 people since the start of the year, deepening a humanitarian and displacement crisis in the mineral-rich territory. Announcing Tshisekedi’s decision late on Friday, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said: “The objective is to swiftly end the insecurity which is killing our fellow citizens in that part of the country on a daily basis.”