Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Catholics in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday called for a fresh rally against “the dictatorship” as they step up pressure on President Joseph Kabila. The call for a demonstration on January 21 came less than two weeks after New Year’s Eve protests …
Read More »DRC army launches new operation against Ugandan rebels
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | The Congolese army on Saturday announced a new operation against armed groups, notably the ADF Ugandan Islamist rebels suspected of murdering 14 UN peacekeepers last month. Army vehicles transported some 300 troops to the operation’s headquarters near Beni in the restive eastern province of …
Read More »Catholic church pounds out anger at Kabila at mass for dead protestors
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Supported by throngs of worshippers and with western ambassadors in attendance, Catholic leaders in DR Congo hammered home a message of anger toward President Joseph Kabila on Friday at a mass to mourn victims of a crackdown. Police fired a couple of warning shots …
Read More »UN pushes DR Congo to investigate crackdown on protesters
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United Nations peacekeeping chief on Tuesday condemned the Democratic Republic of Congo’s security forces for violently cracking down on protesters and said authorities must prosecute those responsible. At least five people were killed during clashes on December 31 when police burst into churches, …
Read More »DR Congo gets high-tech voting machines for long-delayed polls
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s electoral body trumpeted on Tuesday the arrival of the first voting machines from South Korea for long-delayed elections that the government has pledged to hold in December. The vote is supposed to bring about the belated departure of President Joseph Kabila, in power …
Read More »In DR Congo, flood tragedy highlights perils of urban sprawl
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The morning light showed a scene of desolation as people in Ngaliema surveyed the wreckage of shanty homes swept away by killer floods and landslips. Among the 44 people who perished overnight Wednesday in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, were a …
Read More »UN urges DR Congo leader to keep promise to step down
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila to abide by an agreement to leave power, after at least eight people died in protests against his rule. Kabila, in power since 2001, signed a deal with opposition groups …
Read More »Deadly crackdown on anti-president protests in DRC, soldiers storm church
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Eight people were killed Sunday and dozens arrested as security forces in DR Congo cracked down on Catholic worshippers who gathered at churches across the country to demand President Joseph Kabila leave power, a UN source said. Despite appeals notably from the United Nations …
Read More »DR Congo bans planned anti-Kabila march by Catholics
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A planned demonstration against Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Joseph Kabila organised by Catholics has been banned a day before it was to take place in the capital, Kinshasa’s governor said Saturday. “The city does not have sufficient numbers of police officers to supervise this …
Read More »DR Congo arrests suspected mastermind of UN experts’ murder
Kananga, DR Congo | AFP | A village chief believed to have ordered the killing in March of two UN experts in the Democratic Republic of Congo was arrested Saturday, a Congolese military spokesman said. Congolese authorities have from the start said the suspect, Constantin Tshidime Bulabula, was behind the …
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