<article><p class="lead">Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi has declared a month-long state of emergency in an eastern region, near the border with Uganda where Total and China's state-controlled CNOOC are developing two oil fields.</p><p>DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said that the move has been prompted by an increase in armed violence in the region, which is also rich in gold and cobalt. The UN has said that actions by the the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have displaced more than 2mn people in North Kivu province alone.</p><p>"There is a presidential directive for military and sister security forces to conduct operations in North Kivu and Ituri provinces beginning May 6 to bring peace in the two regions," Muyaya told <i>Argus</i>. The operation's success will largely depend on local co-operation and support, he said.</p><p>Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni and Tshisekedi last year agreed to jointly battle insurgents that threaten energy infrastructure in the region. Uganda's government will construct roads inside DRC to further the fight against rebel troops, which it fears could destabilize the project to develop the 6.5bn bl discovery in the Lake Albert region.</p><p>Museveni in late April told Uganda's parliament that would increase surveillance of the ADF to make sure the Lake Albert project does not experience the same plight as LNG facilities in Mozambique, where the French firm last month declared force majeure on a 13.1mn t/yr LNG project after renewed militant attacks near the site forced it to halt construction. The region also hosts the Eni-led 3.4mn t/yr Coral South floating LNG project, which is scheduled for start-up in June 2022, and a final investment decision is pending for ExxonMobil's 15mn t/yr Rovuma project in the same area.</p><p class="bylines">By Mercy Matsiko</p></article>
