Posted by BW Actual on Feb 6th 2025
BLACKWATER USA | DAILY BRIEF
DRC
- A day after announcing a unilateral ceasefire for "humanitarian" reasons, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels reneged and captured the Congolese mining town of Nyabibwe.
- The rebels now seem to be advancing southwards towards the South Kivu capital of Bukavu, which is about 45 miles (70 km) south of Nyabibwe. [On Tuesday, the rebels claimed they had no intention to capture Bukavu, but they were disingenuous about the ceasefire and appear to be bluffing about Bukavu too.]
- Kinshasa angrily called the hastily-scrapped ceasefire offer a "false communication."
- The UN estimated that almost 3,000 people died as the M23 rebels (and Rwandan troops supporting them) captured Goma - far more than the original estimate of 700. Around 700,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.
Philippines
- The Philippines' House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte over allegations that she misused public funds and conspired to assassinate her boss, Pres. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos.
- Duterte and Marcos are scions of the two most influential political dynasties in the Philippines, and the rivalry between their families is intense. Sara and Bongbong briefly overcame their differences to run together and win election for this term, but they quickly fell out again.
- Sara claims the impeachment proceedings are part of a political campaign to prevent her from running against Bongbong for the presidency in the May 12 election.
- Filipino voters are annoyed by their drama, and approval ratings for both Sara and Bongbong have dropped since the two began airing their grievances.
Gaza
- The White House walked back Pres. Trump's announcement that the U.S. would take control of Gaza, and SecState Rubio hinted that Trump had only meant that the U.S. could help clear out and then rebuild the war-torn territory - and doesn't intend to deploy troops or "permanently" resettle Gazans elsewhere.
China
- Because Pres. Trump revoked the de minimus duty exemption on Chinese imports that companies like Shein and Temu ship directly to U.S. consumers, the U.S. Postal Service has temporarily stopped accepting shipments from China and Hong Kong.