The DRC’s independence anniversary renews debate over progress, security and state capacity.
![Ordinary Congolese reflect on daily struggles as the country marks 66 years of independence [Luis TATO / AFP]](https://aljazeeranews.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AFP__20250218__36XZ28U__v3__Preview__TopshotDrcongoUnrest-1739905447.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Journalist in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The DRC’s independence anniversary renews debate over progress, security and state capacity.
![Ordinary Congolese reflect on daily struggles as the country marks 66 years of independence [Luis TATO / AFP]](https://aljazeeranews.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/AFP__20250218__36XZ28U__v3__Preview__TopshotDrcongoUnrest-1739905447.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Health officials defend the restrictions, but traders say the measures have disrupted the flow of goods and income.

Anger and mistrust growing over Ebola burials as traditions clash with medical response to prevent spread.
![Health workers wearing protective equipment gather to disinfect the isolation area for Ebola patients at the General Referral Hospital of Mongbwalu [AFP]](https://aljazeeranews.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/afp_6a12a7176576-1779607319.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Families in Mongbwalu grieve as Ebola returns, exposing serious gaps in healthcare and outbreak preparedness.
![According to Congolese authorities, Mungwalu is where the first cases of this Ebola outbreak were reported [AFP]](https://aljazeeranews.edgeone.app/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/afp_6a096c8cd6ab-1779002508.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The new Ebola outbreak has been reported in the towns of Rwampara, Mongwalu, and Bunia in northeastern DRC

As officials meet in Washington to discuss critical minerals, many in DRC fear their country will gain little.

Many are still haunted by the aborted legacy of DR Congo’s first prime minister, who was murdered on January 17, 1961.

Will the US-supported project be a hub for regional trade, or a new gateway to plunder DR Congo’s natural resources?

More than 500 cases of unknown illness have emerged in rural, remote Panzi in western Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The mpox outbreak puts pressure on a region already struggling with a lack of medicines and an ongoing armed rebellion.
