Eastern DRC's security still in a danger especially in KIVU and ITURI

On the security level, the DRC is still in a tragic situation. As we have been monitoring new tensions DRC has with Zambia at the common border level,the confusion in minembwe, various chaos in the Kivu and ITURI, it is a confusing security situation in the eastern part of the country.
Indeed, reflecting the fact that though the CSG has been constantly denounced for years, the Congo Study Group through the voice of its Director, researcher Jason Stearns, said he had " received reports from the different  focal points that we have on the ground and our interlocutors in civil society who notified a presence of the Rwandan military ". This presence is a violation of international law and is done with the tactic agreement of Mr. Felix Tshisekedi who seems to have given a white card informally to the Kigali regime to carry out his various projects on Congolese soil. If these recent incursions are in addition to a long list of violations that began in the 1990 s (see report mapping), they must not avoid the issue of Congolese army infiltration. Interviewed by RFI on 17 April 2020, a member of the civil society of North Kivu noted: "They are Rwandans in the night and present themselves as FARDC units the during daylight".
These facts are all the more serious as they take place in the context of increasing tensions between Burundi and Rwanda on one side and Uganda and Rwanda on the other. This is how the DRC is once again at risk of being the theatre of power wars that does not concern it. This fear was shared in a report by the International Crisis Group. It's President, Martin Fayulu, also expressed his fear in a tweet where he says: " The DRC must no longer be the playground of some surrounding countries.
Those who feel threatened must hold talks with their rebels at home. The blood of the Congolese can no longer continue to flow because of imported conflicts. We have the right to peace." On April 24, a deadly attack carried out by foreign elements in Virunga Park confirmed these fears. Until the DRC is led by responsible, legitimately elected patriots who are not bound by opaque and cloudy commitments, there will be no outcome of the security crisis in the eastern part of the country.

The European Union does not rule out proceedings against the perpetrators of human rights violations in eastern DRC

The European Union does not rule out taking adequate measures against persons, groups or organizations that contribute through their actions to harm the preservation of peace or serious human rights violations in Ituri province , east of the DRC.
This is the statement content made on Wednesday, May 20th by High Representative / Vice-President of the European Union.
" The province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been hit for several weeks by an intensification of almost daily attacks against the civil population can be read in the EU statement.
Since the beginning of the year, nearly 300 people have been killed and more than 200 people have fled the atrocities.
These barbaric acts must stop. It is up to the Congolese authorities and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to put an end to the actions of the CODECO army and to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice. No sense of impunity can prevail. It is also essential to take dialogue first and fight against any use of identity.
What is happening in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo cannot become a forgotten crisis; and efforts to put an end to insecurity in this region must be accelerated.
The European Union stands ready to support the efforts of the Congolese authorities in this regard, in coordination with its partners.

The national army of DRC made an defensive attack on an ADF attack in mayimoya and capture 2 attackers

The Armed Forces of the DRC (congolese) on tuesday arrested  two ADF fighters in the village of mayimoya located in the territory of Beni (North-kivu).
These were arrested at the same time as the armed forces made an attack these rebels in this part of the military zone as said by spokesperson in the region.
Antony Mwalushayi adds that the Congolese army remains determined and committed to defeat the enemy and stabilize the region he said.
Meanwhile, another place where they  hide was discovered by the army in the village of Ndalya in Irumu.
" It was when the army was in a patrol operation that this military hide was discovered says Bravo Vukulu president of the civil society of Bambuba Kisiki a group near the village of Ndalya.
" Several military wares were recovered by the army after being abandoned by the attackers during the exchange of shots adds Bravo Vukulu.
It should be noted that for several days now the territory of Beni has been facing growing insecurity caused and imposed by the ADF.

Iraqi intelligence announced Wednesday that one of the alleged successors of the ex-Daesh leader al-Baghdadi was arrested

US President Donald Trump announced in October 2019 that the former Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was terminated as a result of US military operation.
But today,Iraqi intelligence announced Wednesday that one of the alleged successors of the ex-Daesh leader al-Baghdadi was arrested, according to the report by Ashaq al Awsat on their tweets.
#Breaking | #Iraqi intelligence announced the arrest of the potential successor of slain #ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
— Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) May 20, 2020
According to INA news agency, the Iraqi intelligence detained Abdullah Quardash, who was one of the possible successors to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"Abdullah Quardash, the candidate for successor of the criminal al-Baghdadi, was captured", the INA news agency reported.

NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOs) is closely observing all asteroids approaching our planet within a distance of 0.05 astronomical units. In human terms, it may seem like nothing, but large space rocks can have a significant impact on Earth - even from a million-kilometres away.
The Apollo-class asteroid 441987, also dubbed 2010 NY65, will closely approach Earth on 24 June, according to NASA’s tracking table.
The space rock is measured at between 140 and 310 metres, based on the way it reflects lights, and is estimated to be a small object in NASA’s terms. However, it will approach our planet at a speed of 12.98 kilometre per second, coming as close as 0.02512 astronomical units to Earth.
NASA’s CNEOs has been tasked to thoroughly observe all asteroids closely approaching our planet within 0.05 astronomical units, or around 7.5 million kilometres. 2010 NY65 is no exception to this rule, as it will fly past the Earth on the early morning of 24 June at a distance of 3.7 million kilometres.
The space rock was first observed in July 2010 and belongs to the Apollo class of asteroids, the orbit of which crosses paths with the trajectory of the Earth. 2010 NU65 is a relatively small space rock, but researchers believe that all asteroids that are close to one kilometre in size can inflict significant damage on our planet due to the secondary effects, such as tsunamis, they can create, even from a great distance.

DRC army claims to have neutralized over 300 militia men

In its report published in a press release, on Monday, 18 March, the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) claim to have neutralized three hundred and nine militiamen from the CODECO militia during military operations called "Zaruba ya Ituri 2", Ituri storm 2, launched against this armed group since the beginning of March 2020 in the territories of Djugu and Mahagi and part of Irumu (Ituri).
The spokesperson for the FARDC operating sector in Ituri, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, who published this report, also announces that these operations continue until the full deactivation of this militia.
The army also reported that it recovered two strongholds from this militia in Djaro and Londjango as well as several locations under their control including Rithy, Nyangaray, Ngongo and I in the territory of Djugu.
In addition, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo is making a record of 63 dead on the FARDC side.
He recommended that the people of the region take care of this militia and denounce all those who hold the weapons as well as those who hold them.
The army also calls on the lost young people to drop weapons and go to FARDC to serve under the DRC flag than to remain on these adventures, notes the press release.
For his part, Ituri civil society coordinator, Jean Bosco Lalo, congratulates FARDC on these achievements.
But, he believes that much remains to be done for the restoration of a sustainable peace in Ituri through the return of thousands of displaced people throughout the province and others have fled to Uganda.

Two Zambia police officers caught inside DRC

Close to a month of tension on that border strip,Two Zambian criminal police officers were arrested on Tuesday 19 May, in the village of Musosa, 220 km from the territory of Moba in Tanganyika province, by the "technical" services. (DMIAP and RDA).
These are 69-year-old James Kazembe and 33-year-old Bungu Chyprien.
According to the of Territory admin who delivers this information, these two Zambian topics had no supporting documents.
"They were equipped with maps of Zambian criminal police officers", said Admin Keyeni Didier.
Before continuing: " They were arrested and informed the hierarchy at the level of Kalemi, because they did not have supporting documents. In a short time, they will be sent to Kalemi to be the on the grounds of their presence on Congolese soil ", he concluded.
As a reminder, a few days ago Faustin Kambale, a local civil society actor, said that the Anti-Homeland Military Detection (DMIAP) and the National Intelligence Agency (RDA) had been moved to the border with Zambia.

The US Air Force Special Operations Command plans to test-fire a 60-kilowatt laser aboard its new AC-130J Ghostrider gunship by 2022

Once seen as the stuff of science fiction, or of a distant dystopian future, laser-based weapons have become a reality in recent years as major powers including the United States, Russia and China rush to field the technology in a variety of air, ground and naval applications.
The US Air Force Special Operations Command plans to test-fire a 60-kilowatt laser aboard its new AC-130J Ghostrider gunship by 2022, Col. Melissa Johnson, programme executive officer for fixed-wing programmes has confirmed.
“If it is successful – and we are planning for success –then it will feed into our new requirements and potentially a new programme down the road,” Johnson said, her comments cited by National Defense magazine .
“If this goes forward past the demo…we’ll have an additional [R&D, testing and evaluation] programme going forward,” she added.
According to the officer, laser systems for use by the Air Force for the AC-130J have already seen ground-based testing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia.
Now, Johnson says, after years of wrangling with the Pentagon to receive additional funding to develop the laser cannon technology, the Air Force finally has enough cash to proceed with development.
The US Air Force announced plans to introduce directed-energy weapons aboard the AC-130J in 2015, and had hoped to carry out a demonstration of the system sometime this year, but faced setbacks amid a lack of funding. The Ghostrider-based laser cannon, touted as a “less than lethal” weapon which can paralyze but not kill enemy combatants, is just
one of a number of Pentagon programmes to introduce high-energy lasers in its weapons.
The US is not the only country making use of laser technology in defence applications, with Russia introducing the Peresvet ground-based defence system to assist in air and missile defence in 2018. China too is making progress in laser weapons, and like Washington, is
working on an airborne offensive laser weapon. The US deployed a new Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) anti-drone system aboard one of its combat-capable warships earlier this year. Israel unveiled a new laser-based missile intercept system to replace the Iron Dome in January.

Lockheed martin makes sharp cutbacks on the planned production of F-35 fighter jets

In a related development, last week, the Government Accountability Office concluded that as many as 15 key components for the F-35 once made in Turkey were currently not being produced “at the needed production rate” following Ankara’s unceremonious removal from the fighter programme.
Lockheed Martin’s F-35-related supply chain problems have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, with the company expected to reduce output of finished planes by anywhere from 12 to 15 percent this year, Defense News has reported , citing company officials and figures.
Originally planning to build 141 of the planes in 2020, the company now expects to produce anywhere between 18 and 24 fewer F-35s.
Lockheed Martin VP for the F-35 programme Greg Ulmer blamed the coronavirus pandemic for the new difficulties, which will see employees at the Fort Worth, Texas assembly plant reducing work hours starting May 23, confirming that at present, workers are having to wait for missing parts to arrive, thus preventing the line from moving forward.
“If I have the ability to speed up or recover sooner, then I will do so. If there are other unknown COVID-19 impacts that I don’t know about that come on the horizon – I don’t know that either…As we go forward, probably late summer or early fall, we’ll have a pretty good sense of where we’re going to be,” Ulmer said.
Lockheed told investors that production could be slowed back in late April, attributing slowing output to social distancing requirements at factories, workforce disruptions, and shipping constraints.
The F-35, an incredibly complex (and arguably overengineered) universal fifth-generation fighter jet, consists of over 300,000 individual components, which are produced across some 1,900 individual factories in the US, and dozens more in US allied nations such as Italy.
‘Stories of Stupidity’
Trump hinted at the need to bring more of the F-35 supply chain back to the United States last week, suggesting that the reasoning for producing the plane’s components overseas was a sign of “stupidity.”
“I could tell you hundreds of stories of the stupidity that I’ve seen. As an example, we make a fighter jet. It’s a certain fighter jet, I won’t tell you which, but happens to be the F-35,” Trump said , speaking to Fox News Business on Thursday. “It’s a great jet, and we make parts for this jet all over the world. We make them in Turkey, we make them here, we make them there. The problem is, if we have a problem with a country, you can’t make the jet. We get parts from all over the place. It’s so crazy. We should make everything in the United States,” he added.
The coronavirus-related supply problems reported by the company follow news last week that the Government Accountability Office in Washington calculated that over a dozen key components for the F-35 once made in Turkey were not being produced in the necessary quantities by alternative suppliers following Ankara’s booting from the programme over its decision to buy a Russian-made air defence system. The GAO said that issue was just one of the problems which saw parts delivered late thousands of times in recent years, with over 60 percent of the shortages said to be attributable to just 20 tardy suppliers.
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 do-it-all universal fighter jet is the most expensive weapons contract in history, with its total lifetime R&D, production and operation price-tag recently jumping by another $100 billion to $1.6 trillion over its planned 66 year life cycle. Five years after the plane’s production began in 2015, the plane is still said to have well over 800 bugs, glitches and design problems , from ear-damaging cabin pressure issues to faulty radar and software-related vulnerabilities.

US Air Force F-35 Lightning II combat warplane has crashed in Florida during a routine training exercise,

According to Eglin Air Force Base, the pilot ejected from the aircraft and is currently in stable condition. The crash did not cause any casualties or damage on the ground, the base added.
A US Air Force F-35 Lightning II combat warplane has crashed in Florida during a routine training exercise, Eglin Air Force Base said on Twitter.
The plane belonging to the 58th Fighter Squad crashed around 9:30 pm local time and did not cause any damage or loss of life. The base has launched an investigation into the matter.
The incident comes just days after a F-22 Raptor fighter crashed while performing a test flight last Friday. Similarly to the latest crash, there were no casualties or damage caused by the incident and the pilot ejected to safety.