The leader of the rebels who captured two key cities in eastern Congo tells The Associated Press that international sanctions and Congo’s proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace will not stop the fighting.

The presidents of Congo and Rwanda have met in Qatar for their first direct talks since Rwandan-backed M23 rebels seized two major cities in mineral-rich eastern Congo earlier this year.

The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured key areas of Congo’s mineral-rich east say they have withdrawn from planned peace talks with the country’s government in Angola.

Angola says the government of Congo and the M23 rebel group will participate in peace talks next week.

U.K. authorities are punishing Rwanda over its support of the rebels who now control two major cities in eastern Congo.

Congo says over 7,000 people have died this year as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured unprecedented amounts of territory in its mineral-rich eastern region.

Congo’s president says he is going to launch a unity government, as violence spreads across the country’s east and pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis.

Rwanda-backed rebels have captured two major cities in Congo’s mineral-rich east after a major escalation in their yearslong fighting against Congolese forces.

Rwanda-backed rebels have tightened their grip on Bukavu a day after seizing the second major city in eastern Congo.

Congo’s government says Rwanda-backed rebels have occupied a second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo.

Panic and looting are sweeping through eastern Congo’s second largest city as residents flee by the thousands to escape the looming advance of Rwanda-backed rebels.

Congo’s largest church organizations have met with Rwanda-backed rebels in the country’s east to advocate for peace and dialogue after weekslong fighting.

Leaders from eastern and southern Africa have called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in eastern Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels are threatening to overthrow the Congolese government.

Hundreds of wounded people have poured into overcrowded hospitals in Goma after Rwanda-backed rebels captured the major city in eastern Congo last week.

The M23 rebel group that is backed by Rwanda has emerged as a more potent force after being crushed during their first rebellion in 2012.

The U.N. says Rwanda-backed rebels were quickly expanding their presence in eastern Congo after capturing the region’s major city.

Rwanda-backed rebels who have captured eastern Congo’s largest city say they plan to take their rebellion to the capital and seek to gain political power.

Many of the millions of people trapped in eastern Congo’s escalating rebellion face a terrible choice: Retreat into Congo’s interior and seek the protection of an army in disarray, or cross into nearby Rwanda, which is accused of backing the rebels.

Rebels backed by Rwanda have captured more towns in eastern Congo as fighters moved beyond the key city of Goma in an apparent attempt to expand their control in the conflict-battered region.

Congolese security forces have tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo’s largest city.

Amnesty International has called for an investigation into a former governor and two top army officials in Congo for “possible crimes against humanity” during a deadly protest crackdown last year.

President Joe Biden’s long-delayed trip to Africa was overshadowed by his controversial pardon of his son Hunter.

President Joe Biden has pledged another $600 million for an ambitious multi-country rail project in Africa as one of the final foreign policy moves of his administration.

The finger wag.

A military court in Congo has convicted dozens of people, including three Americans, for a coup attempt.

A military court in Congo has convicted 37 people, including three Americans, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt and sentenced them to death.

Prosecutors are calling for for 50 people, including three Americans, to face the death penalty for what the Congolese army says was a coup attempt earlier this year.

The decades-old conflict in Congo’s mineral-rich east has “drastically deteriorated” since early 2022 and gotten even worse since last October, with sharp increases in sexual violence, the number of wounded and child recruitment, the top Red Cross official in the country says.

The military trial of 51 suspects, including three Americans, accused of being involved in a coup attempt in Congo last month has opened in the country's capital of Kinshasa.

Poland's top diplomat says that Congo has released a Polish man who was sentenced to life in prison on espionage charges.

The friend of a prominent Congolese opposition leader’s son said he turned down a six-figure offer to travel there as part of the family’s security detail in what turned out to be a failed coup attempt.

Authorities in Congo are accusing three Americans of involvement in a brazen weekend attack on Congo’s presidential palace.

Congo’s army says it has foiled a coup attempt and arrested the perpetrators, including several foreigners.

Families of the victims of last week's bombings at two camps of displaced people in eastern Congo, which killed at least sixteen people, have mourned their loved ones at a ceremony in the city of Goma.

Representatives of two armed groups in Congo signed solemn pledges this week to both their violence-wracked country and the wider world: We will do better to respect and protect civilians.

Dozens of Burundian troops have been detained for refusing to be deployed to eastern Congo in the fight against the M23 rebel group.

Residents say one of eastern Congo’s most active rebel groups is attacking a community considered the last line of defense before the region’s largest city of Goma.

Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has been sworn into office after a disputed December election.

Congo’s election commission says President Felix Tshisekedi has won reelection with more than 70% of the vote.

A main opposition candidate in Congo accused police of using live bullets to break up a protest in the capital as demonstrators demanded a re-do of last week’s presidential election.

Congo is wrapping up its second day of voting after a chaotic rollout and lengthy delays forced election officials to extend voting hours.

Lengthy delays at the polls have forced officials to extend voting in Congo’s presidential election to Thursday.

The Security Council has voted unanimously to start the withdrawal of the U.N. peacekeeping force from Congo before the end of the year as the conflict-ridden country prepares to elect its next president on Wednesday.

Congo’s president says he has confidence an upcoming vote will be rolled out credibly, as tensions mount that a severe lack of electoral preparation could throw the conflict-riddled nation into disarray.

Congo's presidential election is a week away, and the major issue is the deadly conflict in the nation's east that has forced millions of people to flee their homes.

A local official in eastern Congo says the death toll from recent floods has nearly doubled to almost 400 people, The administrator of the Kalehe territory of South Kivu province told The Associated Press by phone that more bodies were recovered Sunday, including many found floating in Lake Kivu.

The death toll from flash floods and landslides in eastern Congo has risen beyond 200, with many more people still missing, according to local authorities in the province of South Kivu.

Congo’s former rebel leader jailed by the International Criminal Court, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has been appointed Congo’s Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle.

A summit on how to protect the world’s largest forests underway in Gabon is set to be dominated by the issue of who pays for the protection and reforesting of lands that are home to some of the world’s most diverse species and contribute to limiting planet-warming emissions.

Pope Francis has led Congo’s young people in a rousing denunciation of political corruption.

Local climate activists in Congo are hoping Pope Francis’ visit will help spur action to protect the country’s rainforest from oil and gas interests.

President Joe Biden says he will visit sub-Saharan Africa next year, announcing the trip as he wrapped up a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.

Congo's government says the number of people killed by widespread floods and landslides in the capital Kinshasa has climbed to more than 140.

Congo's military says some 3,000 people have stepped forward to join the military's fight against M23 rebels in the country's east.

Few men in power have delved deeply into gender equality on the main stage of the United Nations this month.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has told the U.N. General Assembly that wealthy countries should help — or at least not block — developing countries charting their own paths.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday rebuked Rwandan authorities over democracy and human rights concerns, saying the central African country may not reach its full potential without opening up political space and protecting freedoms.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “concerned” about reports of the detention of an opposition political leader in Congo.

A Congolese government spokesman says President Felix Tshisekedi will meet with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in Angola amid rising tensions between the two neighboring countries.

Pope Francis has greeted members of the Congolese community in Rome after knee trouble forced him to cancel a planned pilgrimage to Africa.

Pope Francis is urging the people and leaders of Congo and South Sudan to “turn a page” and forge new paths of reconciliation, peace and development.

East Africa’s leaders have responded to the threat of war between Rwanda and Congo by instructing a new regional force to deploy in eastern Congo and ordering an immediate cease-fire.

Congo's president is accusing Rwanda of trying to occupy his country’s land for its vast mineral wealth.

Belgium’s King Philippe has expressed his “deepest regrets” to Congolese lawmakers for abuses committed during colonial rule.

Kenyan authorities say that some Congolese armed groups participating in peace talks in Kenya have asked for more time before laying down their weapons, signaling the talks have not made a breakthrough.

The Vatican says Pope Francis is planning to visit Congo and South Sudan in July.

Uganda has slammed as “undue interference” the International Court of Justice’s ruling that it must pay $325 million to Congo over violence in the late 1990s.

China is urging its citizens to leave three provinces in eastern Congo as violence intensifies in the mineral-rich region.

African leaders and campaigners are pressing the international community to do more to support efforts to adapt to climate change, seizing on evidence showing the continent to be the most endangered by the effects of global warming.

The U.S. and European Union have reached an agreement to settle their diplomatic rift over Trump-era steel and aluminum tariffs.

World leaders are capping their day of Group of 20 summitry on Saturday with a gala dinner at the Quirinale Palace.

The inequity of COVID-19 vaccine distribution came into sharp focus Thursday as many of the African countries whose populations have little to no access to the life-saving shots stepped to the podium to speak at the U.N.’s annual meeting of world leaders.

The U.N.’s top climate official is urging governments to stop their “deferral and delay” tactics and instead embrace rapid, widespread measures to curb and adapt to global warming.

Egypt and Sudan are urging the U.N. Security Council to undertake “preventive diplomacy” and call for a legally binding agreement to resolve a dispute with Ethiopia over the availability of water from its dam on the Nile River.

More than 20 African heads of state and top officials from European governments, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to seek an additional $100 billion for reviving Africa’s economies crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for bringing France out of the pandemic aren’t just about resuscitating long-closed restaurants, boutiques and museums, but about preparing his possible campaign for a second term.

Thousands have protested and two people were killed in Chad in demonstrations against the rule of a transitional military council headed by the son of the late President Idriss Deby Itno, who was killed last week.

Members of the military carry the body of former president John Magufuli to lie in state at Uhuru stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Saturday, March 20, 2021. Tens of thousands of Tanzanians came out to view Magufuli's body at Uhuru Stadium in the country's largest city, Dar es Salaam, over the weekend. Suzan Mtua, 30, died with four school-age children from the same family when there was a stampede of people wanting to view the body Sunday, Heri Mtua, a family spokesman, said. “The children had demanded they also attend the funeral of President Magufuli,” he said. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was Magufuli's vice president and succeeded him, was joined by nine African heads of state on Monday for Magufuli's state funeral.

And this peace needs justice, truth and reconciliation.”The doctor has a groundswell of support in Bukavu where thousands marched Thursday to demand justice and action from Congo's government and the international community. The report detailed mass killings, sexual violence, attacks on children, and other abuses by rebel groups, foreign armies and Congolese armed forces. In August, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi said that he wants the government to combat the abuses and crimes through justice for past and present crimes. International justice coupled with national jurisdiction could be key “to be able to say simply to all criminals: ‘That’s not accepted. The award was shared with Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who was raped by Islamic State militants in Iraq and has become a global advocate for victims of sexual violence.

Her friend Lea Tavares Mujinga was even younger the day her mother was forced to give her up: just a 2-year-old toddler. We have been destroyed, both morally and psychologically, Bitu Bingi told The Associated Press on Monday, the eve of the 60th anniversary of Congos independence on June 30, 1960. Excuses are not enough.Now in their 70s, Bitu Bingi and Tavares Mujinga want reparations. There, Tavares Mujinga was reunited with her older brother, who had been seized a few years earlier. Bitu Bingi recalls that food was scarce, and rare were the days when she could properly wash.We did not know how chicken tasted.

FILE - In this June 30, 1961 file photo, Congo celebrates the first anniversary of independence from Belgium with a large military parade in Leopoldville, the capital before it was later renamed in 1966 to Kinshasa, in Congo. On Tuesday, June 30, 2020 Congo is marking the 60th anniversary of achieving independence from the colonial rule of Belgium. (AP Photo/Horst Faas, File)KINSHASA Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi vowed to root out the corruption and impunity that has hindered the country since its independence from Belgium as the nation marked its 60th anniversary amid a global reckoning over racial inequality. After independence in 1960, Congo soon fell under the repressive rule of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko who ruled for 32 years. Education, employment, health, infrastructure nothing works because of the poor management and mediocrity of the Congolese political class, Lutunu said.