Bottom Line

At least 24 children died when a fire swept through two primary schools and surrounding homes in Bukavu, although preliminary accounts placed the toll as high as 27. A peace-process review found only 18.6 percent of assessed Doha commitments implemented as AFC/M23 continued building administrative structures in occupied areas. Renewed fighting emptied at least 16 villages in Masisi, while the Ebola response added treatment capacity in Tshopo but continued to face renewed transmission and overcrowding elsewhere. Congo Airways’ board alleged that more than $23 million was diverted during the carrier’s stalled recovery, and public debt reached $18.55 billion following the April Eurobond and other portfolio movements.

Public Safety

Bukavu school fire kills at least 24 children

A fire swept through the Ujamaa and Furaha primary schools and surrounding homes in Bukavu’s Cimpunda area, killing children during the attempt to escape. Preliminary accounts now place the death toll at 24 to 26 students, with provincial authorities reporting 26 deaths and AFC/M23 reporting 24. Dozens were injured, and one report said more than 500 homes were destroyed. The cause of the fire remained unknown.

Bukavu has no fire engine, and 2,831 homes have burned across South Kivu since February 2025, according to figures compiled in local reporting.

Conflict and Security

Doha implementation remains limited as AFC/M23 builds governing structures

A peace-agreement barometer assessed 65 of 350 Doha commitments as implemented after 13 months, or 18.6 percent. It counted 15 releases among 477 detainees identified by the government and AFC/M23, while financial and procedural constraints continued to limit ceasefire verification and six of eight protocols remained under negotiation.

AFC/M23 has meanwhile appointed neighborhood leaders, issued fiscal rules and announced 378 successful candidates for judicial posts in areas it controls. The expansion of this de facto administration leaves unresolved the legal status of civil records, land documents, diplomas and judicial acts produced under its authority.

Fighting continues as at least 16 Masisi villages empty

Fighting continued around Malemo, Luola, Kibati and the Buhimba-Mahanga axis between AFC/M23 and FARDC-backed Wazalendo forces. Local reporting said at least 16 villages in Masisi had emptied during four weeks of clashes.

Separately, humanitarian officials counted more than 2,000 displaced households in Fizi’s Tanganyika sector after fighting in the high and middle plateaus of Uvira and Fizi.

DRC-Congo-Brazzaville tensions raise concern over residents and property

Relations between Kinshasa and Brazzaville remain strained following a deadly August 26–27 confrontation between their security forces on the Congo River between Yumbi and Makotimpoko. Two Brazzaville servicemen were taken to Yumbi during the incident and subsequently returned, while both governments opened channels to investigate the confrontation and prevent further escalation. Tensions have since been compounded by a separate incident involving a Brazzaville prosecutor in Kinshasa and reports of hostility toward DRC nationals in the Republic of the Congo.

In Bétou, in the northern Republic of the Congo, homes associated with DRC nationals were reportedly destroyed or burned in circumstances that remain unclear. The reports have revived concern over the treatment of Congolese residents, particularly given the precedent of Operation Mbata ya Bakolo, during which large numbers of DRC nationals were expelled from the Republic of the Congo in 2014.

Mobondo militiamen install customary chiefs in Kwamouth

Local sources said Mobondo militiamen who have rejected disarmament installed customary chiefs in several Kwamouth villages early this week.

The Mobondo phenomenon emerged from violence that began in Kwamouth in 2022 following a dispute between Teke customary authorities and Yaka farmers over land access and customary dues. The violence subsequently spread beyond Maï-Ndombe into neighboring provinces and the outskirts of Kinshasa. Despite disarmament efforts, armed Mobondo groups have remained active in parts of the affected area. The installation of customary chiefs indicates that militiamen resisting disarmament are seeking influence over local customary administration as well as security in parts of Kwamouth.

ADF hostages released in Mambasa while others remain captive

Dozens of people held by the ADF were released in Mambasa, according to local civil society. The organization said many other captives, including children, remained missing.

Lukanga residents burn a Wazalendo position

Residents burned a Wazalendo position in Lukanga, Lubero territory on September 9 amid local anger toward the fighters. The incident left relations between the militia and the community tense.

Unknown attackers raid Mwenga community radio

Unknown attackers entered Radio Communautaire de Mwenga and removed its broadcasting equipment. The raid took the South Kivu station off air; the perpetrators and motive were not established.

Politics and Institutions

Two passport-enrollment machines disappear in Kinshasa

Two biometric enrollment machines disappeared from the Infinity passport center during the night of September 9–10, nine days after Semlex was removed from the passport system. Responsibility, motive and any disruption to enrollment remained unresolved.

Eight Kisangani police officers face military court

Eight police officers appeared before the Tshopo-Uele military court in a summary proceeding linked to the filmed assault of prosecutor Ikobia Aaron during a sanitation operation. Their court appearance advances the case beyond the detentions reported on September 9.

Health and Humanitarian

Ebola response adds beds as transmission and capacity problems persist

Tshopo opened a 42-bed Ebola treatment center in Kisangani’s Météo neighborhood, replacing the provisional center at Hôpital du Cinquantenaire. Prevention supplies, including infrared thermometers and hand sanitizer, are also due to reach schools in the province’s affected health zones.

Transmission resumed in Mongbwalu after an apparent lull, while North Kivu had 287 patients for 220 treatment beds. National reporting placed the outbreak at 6,843 confirmed cases and 3,310 deaths across 61 health zones, but the operational changes in Tshopo, Ituri and North Kivu remain the more significant development.

Luebo Mpox toll rises to 74 cases and eight deaths

Luebo health authorities recorded 74 Mpox cases and eight deaths across six of the health zone’s 26 health areas. The reported caseload has more than doubled and deaths have doubled since the September 7 edition; the available evidence did not establish laboratory confirmation for every case.

Cholera kills 12 in Pweto

More than 80 cholera cases and 12 deaths were recorded in Pweto territory in Haut-Katanga over two weeks. Provincial health authorities also counted 42 recoveries.

Kisangani displaced families report severe shortages

People displaced by the Mbole-Lengola conflict in Lubunga said they lacked food, medicine, clothing and adequate shelter. The conflict dates to at least late 2022, when land disputes emerged in the Lubunga area south of Kisangani, before escalating into open intercommunal violence between members of the Mbole and Lengola communities in 2023. The violence subsequently spread across parts of Lubunga and surrounding areas, killing hundreds of people and displacing tens of thousands.

Families housed at Sainte-Marthe parish have not returned home despite an approximately year-long lull. Local figures attributed more than 100 deaths at the site to poor health conditions and malnutrition, a toll that was not independently verified.

Justice and Accountability

Congo Airways board alleges more than $23 million was diverted

Congo Airways’ board accused Director General Alexandre Mukendi Tshikala of diverting more than $23 million during 20 months of management. In a letter to the portfolio minister, the board said the money came from government support, social-security guarantees, company revenue and deposits, yet the airline had put no owned or leased aircraft into service. The allegation had not been adjudicated, and no response from Mukendi was available in the assembled reporting.

National database contains more than 460,000 gender-based violence cases

A national database now contains more than 460,000 documented cases of gender-based violence, according to figures presented at the steering committee of the United for Gender Equality program. UNFPA previously reported that more than 460,000 cases, across all forms of gender-based violence, were recorded in the DRC between 2021 and 2024. The program’s toll-free 122 line handled more than 19,000 calls in 2025.

Economy and Public Finance

DRC public debt reaches $18.55 billion after Eurobond

The public-debt authority said DRC debt reached $18.55 billion by June 30, 2026 after the April issuance of a $1.25 billion Eurobond and other portfolio movements. Its official dashboard puts the end-2025 baseline at $15.012 billion, confirming that secondary references to millions misstated the unit.

The Direction générale de la dette publique said total debt remained below 20 percent of GDP and sustainable. Concessional financing represented 68.61 percent of financing instruments excluding arrears.

Mining Code revision moves into civil-society consultation

Civil-society organizations from Kamina, Kolwezi, Lubumbashi and Kinshasa began drafting proposals for changes to the 2018 Mining Code at a two-day meeting in Lubumbashi. Participants intend to submit amendments to a revision proposal already initiated in Parliament.

Organizations involved in the consultations have identified local development and community benefits as priorities, including stronger rules governing mining companies’ commitments under community-development agreements. Civil-society groups have also called for improved redistribution of mining revenue, stronger enforcement of companies’ social obligations and greater local participation in the management of community-development funds. The detailed amendments have not yet been made public.

SNCC says 4,108 retirements would require $640 million

The National Railway Company of Congo, known as SNCC, says 4,108 of its 5,600 employees are eligible for retirement and estimates their departure would require $640 million. Director General Fabien Mutomb said the workforce’s average age is 63 and asked lawmakers to help the company obtain support from the government’s social fund. No financing timetable was announced.

Budget Ministry controls weaken non-tax revenue collection

The Center for Research in Public Finance and Local Development said the Budget Ministry collected 44.39 percent of its first-half non-tax revenue target. It attributed the shortfall to missing statistics on negotiated contracts and tender documents, spending revenue at source, weak separation of responsibilities and problems with the SIGMAP public-procurement system. A related review found a CDF 64 million discrepancy between ministry and revenue-authority figures.

Teachers in Basoko and Yahuma remain unpaid since June

Public-school teachers in Basoko and Yahuma territories have not received salaries since June, their inter-union body said. The pay disruption spans two Tshopo territories and has continued into the new school year.

Maize prices surge in Mbuji-Mayi

A 3.5-kilogram measure of maize rose to CDF 5,000–5,500 from CDF 3,100 in Mbuji-Mayi markets. Traders attributed the increase to depleted stocks, the current planting period and severe rail-transport delays, with maize wagons reportedly taking as long as five months to reach Mwene-Ditu from Kabongo. Provincial authorities have blamed speculative resale practices and ordered stronger price controls while seeking SNCC action to improve supplies.

Hydrocarbon non-tax revenue forecast falls 26 percent for 2027

Projected non-tax revenue from hydrocarbons falls to CDF 255.59 billion in 2027 from CDF 346.94 billion in 2026, a 26 percent decline. The public-finance research center attributed the forecast to lower domestic production volumes and uncertainty over international oil prices.

That outlook comes amid an unusually volatile global market: conflict in the Middle East has disrupted oil supplies and driven Brent prices higher in 2026, while uncertainty over global demand and the timing of a recovery in disrupted production complicates the 2027 outlook. First-half 2026 hydrocarbon collections reached 63.93 percent of the linear target.