DRC: FRN offensive pressures FARDC on multiple fronts
The gist
FRN rebels took Bunyakiri Centre in South Kivu after dislodging army and Wazalendo fighters.
The army is answering setbacks with mass death sentences and a promised counter-offensive.
How it unfolded
- 2026 -05A military court in Kisangani sentenced 58 soldiers to three years in prison for abandoning their positions and fleeing the advance of FRN/M23 rebels in Walikale Territory.
- Oct 20, 202654 soldiers were arrested in Ngora over offences allegedly committed in Waloa Uroba Groupement, Wanianga Sector, Walikale Territory.
- Nov 6, 2026The Goma Garrison Military Court, sitting in Walikale Centre, sentenced 66 FARDC soldiers to death for cowardice, military mutiny and disobeying orders after the trial of 71 soldiers.
Key terms
- Wazalendo
- A Congolese rebel coalition and irregular force in eastern DR Congo allied with the national army against the M23 group.
- FARDC
- The national military forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, responsible for defending the country's sovereignty and territory.
- Rwandan genocide
- The 1994 mass killing of Tutsi and moderate Hutu by Hutu militias during the Rwandan Civil War.
Source: Wikipedia