Colonel Mamadou Moustapha Ndala, who led Congolese army soldiers on the front lines during their victory against the M23 rebels, was killed on Thursday in Beni, North Kivu province, during an ambush.

The Congolese government says it will not sign a “peace deal” with the M23 rebels now that they have been defeated. Information Minister and government spokesman Lambert Mende told reporters during a news conference in Kinshasa on Tuesday that there will only be a “statement.”

DR Congo’s government said on Friday it will protect its population against any military attack by the Rwandan army on its territory.

The Congolese government said on Monday it will not negotiate with the M23 rebels who have wreaked havoc in North Kivu province for months and came close over the weekend to reaching the provincial capital city of Goma.

President Joseph Kabila named the members of the new government led by Prime Minister Matata Ponyo on Saturday. The new cabinet will have thirty six members, including two deputy prime ministers, twenty five ministers, one minister-delegate and eight deputy ministers.

Information Minister Lambert Mende told a news conference on Tuesday that the door for dialogue with opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi remains open.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende called into question the mental health of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi on Monday, a day after the main challenger to President Joseph Kabila in the November 28 presidential election made incoherent and incendiary statements during an interview.

Le président national de l’Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social, Etienne Tshisekedi, s’est autoproclamé président de la République démocratique du Congo et a appelé ses militants à attaquer les prisons de la RDC pour libérer des militants de l’UDPS, qu’il dit être incarcérés pour des raisons politiques, si les autorités ne les libèrent pas au plus tard mardi.

The Minister of Communication and Media, Lambert Mende, said on Wednesday that the government will ensure peace and security during the upcoming elections.

President Joseph Kabila has sacked Minister of Transportation Marie-Laure Kawanda after two boat accidents left dozens killed and others missing in a span of a little over a week.