Rwanda-backed rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have promised to “restore security” in Bukavu, the second major city in the country’s east to fall under the control of the M23 since late last month. 

Residents of the capital of South Kivu province were tentatively walking the streets again on Monday, a day after M23 rebels overran the city with next to no resistance from the fleeing Congolese army. 

Thousands of supporters gathered in downtown Beirut on Friday to mark the 20th anniversary of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination, which comes amid seismic regional political shifts.  

The ousting of Bashar Assad in December after 54 years of family rule in Syria marked the fall of a government long accused of orchestrating Hariri’s assassination and other political killings in Lebanon. 

The Bosnian state prosecution requested the imposition of measures to stop Vidoje Blagojevic and his four co-defendants – all charged with wartime crimes against civilians in the Zvornik area – from leaving the country. 

“There is a high risk of flight,” said prosecutor Mersudin Pruzan, citing cases of other suspects who had fled justice by crossing the border. 

In four days of testimony at the Hague trial for former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and three co-accused of war crimes, Sylejman Selimi said the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) General Staff “was not functional”. 

The defense is seeking to prove that the KLA did not have a rigid command structure like a normal army, and so the defendants were not responsible for crimes committed by lower-ranking fighters. 

According to him, commanders lacked logistical support and weapons and were often not aware where members of the General Staff were. 

Hamas said it would release three more Israeli hostages as planned, paving the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. 

The militant group had threatened to delay the next release of captives after accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of the truce. Israel, with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, has said it will resume fighting if the hostages are not freed, but did not immediately comment on the statement by Hamas. 

A prominent opposition figure jailed in Uganda for allegedly threatening state security is unwell and in need of urgent medical care. 

Four-time presidential candidate Kizza Besigye, who has been in detention since his abduction from Kenya on Nov. 16, is infirm and experiences episodes of hypertension, said Erias Lukwago. 

Gangs in Haiti are recruiting children and targeting them with violence and sexual assault, Amnesty International said in a report detailing the effects of the long-running civil unrest ravaging the Caribbean nation. 

A report published estimates that more than one million children live in areas controlled by or under the influence of armed gangs in Haiti, and condemned offenses committed against young people as “human rights abuses”. 

The secretary general of South Korea's National Election Commission defended the integrity of the country's elections on Tuesday amid claims by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol that votes may have been compromised. 

Kim Yong-bin made his remarks while testifying at a hearing in Yoon's impeachment trial over the president's decision to impose a short-lived martial law on December 3. 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) called for a ceasefire in Sudan during the coming holy month of Ramadan, a UAE official said. The call was rejected by the Sudanese army, as the country's civil war approaches the two-year mark. 

On February 1, 2025, ICTJ facilitated a meeting between family members of the missing and detainees and Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, and the minister of foreign affairs, Asaad Al-Shaibani, at the Presidential Palace in Damascus. Attendees presented a number of specific urgent demands related to the missing and forcibly disappeared, while President Ahmed Al-Sharaa underscored the government’s commitment to the issue.