1. Ebola reaches Nord-Ubangi as Kenya’s cluster grows

Two cases have been confirmed in Nord-Ubangi, making it the eighth affected province in the DRC. Kenya has confirmed four additional infections linked to its first patient, bringing its total to seven cases and one death; three of the new patients are health workers who treated the first patient.

2. Government suspends 13 parties following creation of the FRN

Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani has suspended 13 parties nationwide following the creation of Joseph Kabila’s Front pour la refondation de la nation. None of the parties has formally endorsed or joined the politico-military coalition, and the order does not provide individualized reasons for the suspensions.

3. Attacks attributed to the ADF kill at least ten in Mambasa

At least ten people were killed and others abducted in attacks on three mining sites in Mambasa territory. Local accounts attributed the attacks to the ADF; the UN humanitarian office separately recorded 77 civilians killed by the group in Mambasa during September.

4. Fighting and road closures disrupt the Kivus

FARDC and Wazalendo forces continued fighting the FRN around Kibati in Walikale, with clashes also reported in Masisi and around Minembwe. Road closures have raised prices and restricted movement, while four health facilities in Masisi’s Ufamandu I area have been destroyed during the conflict.

5. Makala’s prison population exceeds capacity tenfold

Kinshasa’s Makala central prison is holding 16,238 people in facilities designed for 1,500. More than 11,000 detainees are awaiting trial, and the prison population has doubled in a little over a year without a corresponding budget increase.