The Kipupu killings seem to be a more complex issue with neighbouring elements implicated in the massacre.

The situation is more complex than it looks. Provincial authorities, civil society and experts are cautious about the motives for recent violence in the region. There are very localized conflicts and there are more regional dynamics. The management of power, the division of land, the movement of cattle, the manipulation of local dignitaries and several other reasons have exacerbated the violence. Among the groups that have manifested themselves in recent months in this mineral-rich area are the Ngumino. Present in the highlands of the territories of Fizi and Uvira, they are also active in the territory of Mwenga where Kipupu is located. Some of their fighters come from other former Banyamulenge armed groups. There are also the Twiraneho, more present in Bijombo, they also recruit from the Banyamulenge community. Much less structured, they relate to the Ngumino. According to the provincial government of South Kivu, the July 16 attack was carried out by the Ngumino and the Twiraneho. In this area, there are also movements which define themselves as self-defense groups known under the generic name of Mai-Mai. Each community like the bafuliro, the rega or even the Babembe, where there was the attack, has its group. Among the actors, there are also groups of foreign origin with Rwandan and Burundian rebels who are also active. A particular picture that makes the pacification process difficult.

CODECO militias kill 5 people in Djugu in the night of 27/7/2020

Up to 5 people were killed during the night from Sunday to Monday, July 27, 2020 by CODECO militiamen in the village of Amema, in the sector of Banyali kilo (territory of Djugu) in Ituri. He denounces the silence on the part of the authorities and also calls for the deployment of regular forces in order to dislodge these militiamen from this area where the militiamen are intensifying the atrocities. "We are in mourning as always. These militiamen killed 5 people who are of young age. We buried them this afternoon. We do not understand, why the security authorities are silent. The army must be deployed here, to dislodge them. these militiamen who want to almost occupy our sector, ”explained the head of the Banyali kilo sector. Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, army spokesman who confirms the news without commenting on the results, calls for calm and reassures that military operations are underway. "We deplore this umpteenth case of attack. We are not going to escape our mission which is to protect the population and their property. Our elements are already deployed on the ground to dislodge these militiamen. That is why we are doing so. call for the involvement of everyone. The population must help us to identify the strongholds of these militiamen who are hiding among the population, "said the military officer. Five other people were killed last Friday during an attack by CODECO militiamen in Donato village, still in the Banyali kilo sector. A total of 18 people died in the space of a week in this area. Local civil society and local authorities have since suspected the probable strongholds of these militiamen in part of the said sector, specifically in the village of Kabakaba.

Schools in DRC to reopen on 03/8/2020

Renewed school year calendar 2019-2020:
Course resumption is scheduled for Monday, August 03 and the end of 2019-2020 is set for September 03, 2020.
Out of 26 million students, only 3 million will go back to school this Monday, August 03
With regard to the national primary school graduation test (TENAFEP), it is confirmed from August 13 to 14 The State exam will be organized from August 24th to 27th.
For off sessions; the essay is scheduled for August 17 and oral French from August 19 to 22, 2020.
It should be noted that for participation costs in TENAFEP, only private schools will pay the participation fees, state schools and conventional schools are in line with the logic of free education.
On the contrary, for state exams, all schools will pay the fees set by provincial governors.
The Prime Minister chaired this Monday, July 27 a meeting focused on the modalities of resumption of activities in the sector of primary and secondary education. The VPM and Minister of the Interior, Gilbert Kankonde, who read the report of the meeting, explained that from August 3, classes resume in the final classes of primary education and on August 10 for the final at the University and promotions with low enrollment. “As of today, we have proceeded to disinfect premises in all our universities and from 03 August there will be administrative resumption. On August 10, it is the resumption of classes in the promotions of small numbers and more mainly in the final classes. In primary secondary and technical education, the start of the school year will be effective from August 3 in the final classes of primary and secondary ”Gilbert Kankonde also specified that there will be no blank year nor in primary, nor in higher and university education. “There will be no white year in education. Everything is in place to make this year count for our children. The specialized services are working to try to accommodate the academic calendar so that what can be taken back is recovered, ”said the VPM and Minister of the Interior. And to conclude, the VPM insisted on respecting barrier gestures. “Now more than ever, wearing a mask is compulsory in all public places, the disease is indeed there. Just because the state of emergency has been lifted doesn't mean the disease is no longer circulating. Barrier measures must be in place, they are part of our everyday culture ”, concluded Gilbert Kankonde. This meeting brought together the Ministries of the Interior, Budget, Decentralization, Primary, Secondary and Technical Education, Finance, Health, National Defense and Veterans Affairs, Social Affairs. 

General sylivano kasongo bans the entry of heavy vehicles in kinshasha by 9pm.

General Sylvano Kasongo, deputy divisional commissioner and police commander in Kinshasa, recalled this Monday, July 27, in a statement, the drivers and attendants of trailers and other heavy-duty trucks that “the regulation of entries and exits” in the Congolese capital remains in force.
According to this measure, we can read in the police statement, “no heavy goods vehicle or trailer can enter the city before 9 pm”.
General Sylvano Kasongo calls on the drivers concerned to comply so as not to suffer the rigor of the law, because, he adds, the elements of the police committed at the borders of Kinshasa are instructed for the execution of this measure without complacency.

Armed violence in Ituri displaces about 1.6 million civilians;noted UNICEF.

Armed violence in the territories of Djugu, Mahagi and Irumu has displaced 1.6 million people, mostly women and children, UNICEF said in a statement on Monday (July 27th).
“The situation of children is particularly worrying, since 151 allegations of serious violations of children's rights, such as rape, murder and mutilation, attacks on schools and health centers have been recorded since May to June 2020.”, the statement said.
UNICEF has identified 165 schools destroyed in conflict zones and fears school wastage on the eve of the resumption of classes that were suspended following the covid-19 pandemic.
“While the Congolese Government's demobilization and reconciliation efforts have revived hopes for peace in Ituri, thousands of internally displaced families and children lack access to basic services, education and health care. Many students may not have a place to study at the start of the school year next week, because 165 of them have been destroyed since January 2020, "the agency said.
This is how UNICEF claims to have "provided access to education for more than one million children who are out of school due to COVID-19. Children can access distance education through 57 community radios or printed textbooks. UNICEF distributed 24,000 workbooks and more than 1,000 solar-powered radios to vulnerable children. "
These displaced people have found refuge in host communities and already overcrowded displacement sites in and around Bunia, the capital of the province.
In addition, some 100,000 children and their families have benefited from food assistance. Dozens of children have either been reunited with their families, placed with foster families, or disassociated from armed groups. There are 9,992 malnourished children in Ituri today, UNICEF said.

Covid19 vaccines slated to be in use by early 2021

While a number of COVID-19 novel coronavirus vaccine trials are in their later stages, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert recently revealed that actual use of the vaccines is slated for 2021, at the earliest.
"We're making good progress," Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said.
"Realistically it is going to be the first part of next year before we start seeing people getting vaccinated.”
Ryan noted that mainly individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 have been stepping up around the world for trials.“That’s a massive contribution to the whole world,” he added.
“Vaccines in this pandemic are not for the wealthy; they’re not for the poor; they’re for everybody,” he argued, stressing that “fairness” in how a future vaccine is allocated is important to the public health agency.
The WHO expert also expressed during the Q&A that communities around the world should make sending children back to school a primary goal in battling the pandemic.
“There are many schools that act as very important points of nutrition for children, the points of safety for children in areas that are not necessarily as safe - socially - for kids. So schools don’t just function as sites of education,” he argued.
“We have to do everything possible to bring our children back to school, and the most effective thing we can do is to stop the disease in the community.”
“The results of phase 1 and/or phase 2 trials have been very promising. We should definitely believe these results, while acknowledging that they do not prove the vaccine is effective," said Aubree Gordon, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, as reported by Reuters.
"These early phase trials address safety and whether the vaccine elicits a good immune response. The good news is that we have several vaccines that have or are moving forward into phase 3 trials - the phase needed to prove it works for licensing.”

.....writer is a Russian friend doing masters in  Virology....

India deploys a squadron of T-90 missile firing tanks along india-china border

Satellite images have captured an additional build-up of troops and equipment by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the Aksai Chin area. The Indian government has expedited weapons and troop deployment after making an assessment that PLA troops are preparing for a long and harsh winter in the Himalayas.
India has started deploying a squadron (12) of T-90 missile-firing tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and a full troop brigade (4,000 men) to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) to prevent any possible Chinese incursion from the Shaksgam-Karakoram pass axis in the Ladakh region, as per military commanders quoted by the Indian news daily Hindustan Times .
The move has reportedly come after disengagement talks failed to topple the Chinese military build-up, wherein the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) deployed close to 50,000 troops in Aksai Chin.
Since the bridges on the Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road cannot handle the weight of a 46-tonne T-90 tank, the missile firing tanks were deployed by fording the rivers and rivulets using specialised equipment. The army has also deployed infantry combat vehicles, US-made M-777 155mm howitzers, and 130 mm guns at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh which include DBO, Galwan, and Pangong Tso.
The satellite images have shown large
concentrations of troops in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the use of possible tunnels to amass equipment, Indian news website ThePrint has claimed. The assessment of a new build-up has suggested that the People’s Liberation Army appears to be getting ready for a long and harsh winter.
Since the disengagement talks are nowhere near over, the Indian Army is matching the troop strength while keeping an eye on the PLA's movement along the Line of Actual Control.
The military and diplomatic level talks since the violent face-off on 15 June, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, has resulted in disengagement only in the Galwan Valley. Indian Army sources said that Beijing has not yet withdrawn its troops from either Pangong Tso or the Depsang Valley.
Chinese troops are almost 8 kilometres inside Indian territory in the Depsang Valley, as per government sources. India and China are in one of the longest border standoffs, which began in the last week of April after Beijing raised objections over infrastructure development by New Delhi along the loosely demarcated border.