Government-allied Wazalendo militiamen have threatened to kill or capture one reporter and to burn down another’s radio station because of unfavourable coverage, as frontlines shift under diplomatic pressure for peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Rwanda-backed M23 and Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebels — who made unprecedented territorial gains in early 2025 — withdrew from several parts of South Kivu province in May, after the United States sanctioned DRC’s former President Joseph Kabila and the Rwandan army. The US alleged that Mr Kabila and neighbouring Rwanda were supporting the rebel alliance in violation of December’s faltering peace agreement to end the decades-old conflict — a move Rwanda condemned as one-sided.
For journalists on the ground, the shifting frontlines have increased the risks they face reporting on intense clashes and drone strikes in civilian areas. None of the myriad warring parties is comfortable with the press reporting freely on their activities. Many journalists have fled eastern DRC, while those who remain face threats from both sides.
‘Keep publishing your stories, and you’ll be killed’
Radio Tuungane’s Anne Nanduhura told CPJ she was threatened three times in June over her reporting on the government’s attacks and blockade of South Kivu’s Minembwe commune, a current hotspot and home to the Banyamulenge ethnic minority. The strategic highland area was captured in 2025 by the Twirwaneho, a Banyamulenge armed group allied with the M23/ AFC.
