The Democratic Republic of Congo’s army has suspended its spokesperson after he made discriminatory remarks targeting the Tutsi minority.
Maj. Gen. Sylvain Ekenga Bomusa Efomi, speaking on national television on Saturday, accused the Tutsi community of committing “treachery” by allegedly placing men in marriages to father children, claiming it was intended to maintain ethnic “superiority.”
The army said in a statement on Monday that the remarks “in no way reflect the official position” of the FARDC, President Felix Tshisekedi, or the government. It added that the comments were “incompatible with the republican values and the constitutional missions” of the military.
The FARDC reaffirmed its commitment to defend Congo’s sovereignty, protect all citizens without distinction, and carry out its duties with professionalism. The army also urged the population to remain united, reject hate speech, and support the FARDC in its mission.
The Tutsi minority, making up roughly 1–2% of the Congolese population, has historically faced discrimination and violence. The M23 rebel group, active in eastern Congo since 2021, draws heavily on fighters from the Tutsi community and cites grievances over discrimination.
The UN, the Congolese government, and other actors accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels, a claim Kigali denies.
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Here are the latest stories from AnewZ’s Africa News programme, focusing on political and security developments across the African continent.
U.S. President Donald Trump brought together the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Washington on Thursday to sign a peace deal, despite ongoing fighting in the region.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has declared the end of a 16th Ebola outbreak, closing a two month emergency in Kasai Province that pushed national and international teams into an intensive response.
More than 200 health facilities in war-hit eastern Congo have run out of medicines due to widespread looting and supply chain disruptions during fighting this year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday.
Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani has died at the age of 93, his foundation said on Monday.
More than 100 vehicles were involved in a massive pileup on Interstate 96 in western Michigan on Monday (19 January), forcing the highway to shut in both directions amid severe winter weather.
The European Parliament has frozen the ratification of a trade agreement with the United States after fresh tariff threats from Donald Trump, escalating tensions between Washington and Brussels.
Five skiers were killed in a pair of avalanches in Austria’s western Alpine regions on Saturday, with two others injured, one critically.
A fresh consignment of precision-guided munitions has departed from the Indian city of Nagpur bound for Yerevan, marking the latest phase in the rapidly expanding defence partnership between India and Armenia.
U.S. President Donald Trump joined the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt for a press briefing on Tuesday, as tensions with European allies deepened over his renewed claims on Greenland and fresh tariff threats.
The European Union has proposed new restrictions on exports of drone and missile-related technology to Iran, while preparing additional sanctions in response to what it described as Tehran’s ‘brutal suppression’ of protesters.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to attend Supreme Court oral arguments this week in a case examining whether President Donald Trump has the authority to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor.
One year into his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has used tariffs, military operations and immigration crackdowns to drive an expansive vision of U.S. power that is generating strong resistance abroad and sharpening political divides at home.
There was a common theme in speeches at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday (20 January). China’s Vice-Premier, He Lifeng, warned that "tariffs and trade wars have no winners," while France's Emmanuel Macron, labelled "endless accumulation of new tariffs" from the U.S. "fundamentally unacceptable."
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