Bottom Line

Amnesty International has documented alleged killings, forced labor and mineral trafficking at two AFC/M23-controlled mining sites. Regional ceasefire monitors have reached Minembwe and Masisi, although fighting continues, while FARDC launched an operation in Ituri after an alleged CRP attack in which 25 people were abducted. Ebola has spread to a 63rd health zone as treatment capacity and unpaid response workers remain concerns, while Mpox has expanded from five to nine health zones in Kasaï.

Eastern DRC Conflict and Security

Amnesty documents alleged killings and forced labor at AFC/M23-controlled mines

Amnesty International documented alleged executions, torture, arbitrary detention, forced labor and forced recruitment affecting artisanal miners at the Rubaya coltan mines in North Kivu and the Lomera gold mine in South Kivu.

The organization documented the alleged deaths of 18 miners through interviews with miners, residents and victims’ relatives. Ten were reportedly beaten to death, two were shot and six were abducted before their bodies were found. Other miners described being detained underground or in shipping containers, beaten for requesting breaks or refusing to surrender minerals, and threatened with forced recruitment unless they paid a ransom.

Amnesty also alleged that AFC/M23 transported gold and coltan illegally to Rwanda with assistance from Rwandan authorities. It said the abuses and mineral pillage could constitute war crimes. The available reporting did not include responses from AFC/M23 or Rwanda.

Ceasefire monitors reach Minembwe and Masisi as fighting continues

The Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism has begun operating in areas contested by government-aligned forces and AFC/M23. The regional mechanism conducted missions in Minembwe on August 24–25 and Masisi on September 10–12 after both sides provided access.

The missions are the first documented field activity since earlier editions found no observable results from the ceasefire-verification mechanism. Their findings have not been released, however, and fighting continued near Ngululu in Masisi. Control of the area remained fluid after government-aligned forces recently claimed to have retaken the locality.

FARDC launches operation after 25 people reportedly abducted in Ituri

FARDC launched an operation against the Convention for the Popular Revolution, or CRP, in Djugu territory after the armed group allegedly attacked a mining site at Nyampala.

Security sources said 25 people were abducted, including six Chinese nationals, Congolese civilians and four FARDC soldiers. The army targeted suspected CRP positions around Nyampala, Liko and Luna, where heavy-weapons fire was reported. No outcome from the operation was available. MONUSCO reinforced its patrols in the area.

Health and Humanitarian

Ebola spreads to Dungu as response capacity remains uneven

Ebola has reached Dungu in Haut-Uélé near the South Sudan border, making it the 63rd health zone affected by the outbreak. The national total reached 7,614 confirmed cases and 3,676 deaths through September 18, an increase of 139 cases and 71 deaths from the figures available two days earlier. MSF warned that it was too early to consider the outbreak under control as transmission continued to expand geographically.

North Kivu opened an 80-bed treatment center and mobile laboratory in Butembo with Ugandan support. Provincial health officials said existing Ebola treatment beds were 98 percent occupied.

Operational problems continue elsewhere in the province. Response workers in Beni protested after going four months without pay and threatened to continue their mobilization until the arrears were settled.

In Ituri, frontline workers in Bunia and Mongwalu began receiving the Ervebo vaccine as part of research into possible cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain. Its effectiveness against this strain has not been established.

Mpox expands to nine health zones in Kasaï

Mpox has spread from five to nine health zones in Kasaï. Provincial figures list 77 suspected cases, including 16 confirmed infections and three deaths.

Luebo remained the principal affected area, with 38 suspected cases, 13 confirmed infections and all three deaths. Mushenge recorded the other three confirmed cases, while suspected infections were reported in Kanzala, Mikope, Kalonda Ouest, Kamuesha, Ndjoko-Punda, Kitangwa and Tshikapa.

Public Safety

Bukavu fire kills three and destroys hundreds of homes

At least three people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed in a fire that began late on September 20 in Bukavu’s Nyalukemba neighborhood.

Preliminary accounts described more than 200 households burned out and another 150 structures destroyed. Two churches and a school were also affected. The cause was not established in the available reporting.

Economy and Energy

DRC joins the pan-African payment system

The Central Bank of Congo signed the DRC’s accession to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, bringing the country into a network now available in more than 20 African markets.

Cross-border African payments have traditionally required traders to convert local currencies into dollars or another hard currency through correspondent banks, often outside Africa. PAPSS allows a Congolese importer to pay in Congolese francs while the supplier receives its own local currency, with payments processed in as little as 120 seconds.

The system could lower foreign-exchange and correspondent-banking costs, shorten settlement times and improve cash flow for businesses trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area. Afreximbank projects that a fully scaled PAPSS network could save African businesses more than $5 billion annually, although that is a continent-wide projection rather than an estimate for the DRC.

Commercial banks and payment providers must complete their integration before customers can use the system.

Hydroelectric map identifies one of the world’s largest concentrations of untapped potential

The government has published a digital inventory of 3,349 hydroelectric sites through the Hydro RDC portal and directed that future concessions and licenses be based on the map.

The sites have an estimated combined potential of 167.25 gigawatts—about 40 times the DRC’s current installed generating capacity of approximately 4.13 gigawatts. The country generated 16.45 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025.

At 50 percent average output, the mapped potential would generate about 733 terawatt-hours a year—more than 44 times the DRC’s entire 2025 electricity production and equivalent to the annual consumption of roughly 730 million households using 1,000 kilowatt-hours each. International assessments had already identified the DRC as having by far Africa’s largest hydropower resources and almost 13 percent of global potential. The new 167.25-gigawatt inventory is about 67 percent higher than the established 100-gigawatt estimate, placing the country among the world’s greatest concentrations of untapped hydropower.

Of the mapped sites, 251 contain installations that are operating or inactive. The scale contrasts with current access: about 80 percent of the Congolese population remains without electricity.

Infrastructure

Kananga–Kalamba-Mbuji road reaches 43 kilometers of paved surface

Forty-three kilometers of the planned 230-kilometer Kananga–Kalamba-Mbuji road have been surfaced since construction began in July 2024. More than 50 kilometers have reached the foundation-layer stage, while the overall project was assessed as approximately 22 percent complete.

The road is being built across Kasaï-Central toward Kalamba-Mbuji. Authorities said work was continuing on drainage structures and additional road layers, with completion planned before 2028. Villages including Matamba, Shamatengu, Kadiata, Kambundi and Mbula-Mbula have gained improved road access.

Studies validated for planned 26-kilometer Kinshasa expressway

Kinshasa authorities completed the validation process for studies covering the planned Autoroute du Fleuve, a proposed 26-kilometer road connecting Limete, Masina and Nsele.

The corridor is intended to improve travel between central Kinshasa and N’Djili International Airport. The validation advances the project’s preparatory work, but construction has not begun and authorities have not announced a final timetable.