Bottom Line

FARDC troops, Wazalendo groups and Burundian forces intensified attacks on AFC/M23 positions around Point Zéro in South Kivu. In Ituri, an ADF-attributed incursion displaced residents from Bandikafu, while an unexplained confrontation between the FARDC and Wazalendo prompted temporary displacement around Mayuano. An Ebola response team was attacked during a burial intervention near Mambasa, forcing the responders to withdraw and injuring one member.

Conflict & Security

Government coalition intensifies attacks on AFC/M23 positions around Point Zéro

The current round of fighting began on August 28, when the FARDC and Wazalendo attacked AFC/M23 positions around Point Zéro. The locality lies in the Itombwe highlands near the boundary between Fizi and Mwenga territories. Local sources reported intensified heavy-arms and drone fighting from approximately 4 a.m. Monday. The clashes reportedly displaced residents and extended to Malimba and Rubarati. Local accounts said the FARDC and Wazalendo may have retaken the two villages, but that claim could not be confirmed. Those claims have not been independently verified.

Assessment: The renewed offensive appears intended to reverse the AFC/M23’s July capture of Point Zéro, but reporting does not yet establish a change in control.

What to Watch: Independent confirmation of control over Malimba, Rubarati or Point Zéro.

ADF-attributed incursion displaces residents from Bandikafu

Residents fled toward Komanda and Takumanza after gunfire was reported at Bandikafu early Monday in Irumu territory, Ituri. A local school director attributed the incursion to the ADF and said parents and children were among those leaving shortly before the September 1 reopening of schools. Authorities had not issued a casualty or damage assessment, and responsibility has not been independently established.

FARDC reportedly expels Wazalendo fighters from a position near Mayuano

The FARDC reportedly drove Wazalendo fighters from Mbembese hill in Mambasa territory, Ituri, on Sunday and burned their camp. Gunfire was reported for several hours around Mayuano, Bango and Some. Some residents began returning on Monday after a relative calm was restored. Neither the FARDC nor the Wazalendo had publicly explained what prompted the confrontation, and no casualty figure was available.

Public Health

Machete-armed youths force an Ebola team to withdraw from a burial intervention near Mambasa

Young people armed with machetes attacked an Ebola response team at a funeral outside Mambasa on Saturday, according to a team representative. The responders fled and one member was injured.

The attack prevented the team from carrying out an intervention involving a potentially infectious body. It provides a further example of community resistance directly obstructing containment work in one of the areas most affected by the outbreak.

Ituri schools install Ebola-prevention equipment

Schools in the high-risk education subdivisions of Bunia, Nizi, Irumu 2 and Mambasa 3 have installed handwashing and temperature-screening equipment, according to provincial education authorities. An alert system is also intended to refer suspected cases to health services.

The Education Ministry’s plan provides for printed worksheets focused on essential material, distributed every two weeks and supplemented by educational programs on local radio and, where possible, television. Schools would remain open as distribution and support points, and families would not require Internet access or digital equipment. The arrangements are to be reviewed in four-week periods.

The August 31 reporting did not establish whether the printed materials or final implementation instructions had reached the affected schools. School administrators in Bunia said on August 25 that they had received neither the materials nor clear directives.

Suspected food poisoning kills six in Visiki, Beni territory, North Kivu

Six people have died and approximately 40 remain hospitalized following a suspected food-poisoning incident in Visiki-Centre, in the Baswagha-Madiwe groupement of Beni territory. Earlier reporting had identified four deaths and 36 hospitalized patients.

Local civil-society representatives suspect cassava flour sold at Kitholu, but the cause has not been established. Patients are receiving free treatment at facilities including the Visiki and Mambingi health centers and Mabalako general hospital. Security services are investigating the origin of the suspected contamination.

Cholera response expands in Popokabaka, Kwango, three months into the outbreak

The cholera outbreak in Popokabaka territory began on June 1 in the Lusanga health area before spreading to other parts of the health zone. Response data recorded 864 cases through August 24.

The response now includes one treatment center, six treatment units and 25 community rehydration points. Médecins Sans Frontières is supporting the health authorities with treatment, surveillance, staff training and water and sanitation measures.

The community rehydration points provide initial treatment closer to patients living far from health facilities. Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation remains a continuing source of transmission risk.

Public Safety

Fire destroys approximately 100 homes and businesses in Makana amid a wider pattern of destructive fires during dry season

A fire destroyed approximately 100 homes and several businesses at the Makana commercial center in Walikale territory, North Kivu, overnight Saturday. Affected families lost property and were left without shelter.

A customary official said the fire may have started after a cigarette was discarded in a room where fuel was stored, but an investigation is continuing. It was the second reported fire at the commercial center in approximately two months.

Makana is part of a broader pattern of destructive fires during the dry season. Approximately 2,200 homes have burned in South Kivu since February 2025, including more than 1,700 in Bukavu, according to figures cited by Radio Okapi. Recent reporting has linked the scale of the losses to dense construction, unsafe electrical connections and insufficient firefighting capacity. In North Kivu, Beni had recorded 15 fires by early August, while local authorities were still seeking a fire engine.

Government & Public Finance

Government sets September timetable for completing the 2027 budget

The Budget Ministry says preparation of the 2027 finance bill is approximately 90 percent complete. Officials plan to consolidate the technical work on September 2, submit the draft to an expanded interministerial meeting on September 8 and present it to the Council of Ministers on September 11.

The government is constitutionally required to submit the bill to the National Assembly by September 15. The first substantive indication of the government’s choices will come when the proposed revenue assumptions and allocations are released, rather than from the reported percentage of preparatory work completed.