Beni, DR Congo | AFP | Rebels killed at least seven civilians and abducted 15 others, including children, in fresh overnight raids in the far eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, civilian and military sources said Sunday. Fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) staged two raids Saturday night in the …
Read More »Church vows to keep pressure on DR Congo’s Kabila
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo’s powerful Catholic church vowed Friday to maintain pressure on President Joseph Kabila to step down, at a highly-charged mass for people killed in a protest march last month. “The march of Christians will not stop,” Abbot Francois Luyeye said to …
Read More »DR Congo minister urges punishment after police violence
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s minister for human rights on Tuesday called for the prosecution of police who opened fire on anti-government protestors at the weekend, in a crackdown condemned by the EU and UN. Six people were killed, scores injured and dozens arrested, according to the …
Read More »DR Congo militiamen on trial for raping children
Bukavu, DR Congo | AFP | Eighteen suspected militiamen, including a provincial lawmaker, went on trial Friday in DR Congo’s chaotic east for kidnapping and raping some 40 girls. Frederic Batumike and 17 others face charges of “crimes against humanity through rape and murder … and taking part in an …
Read More »DR Congo opposition unveil plans to force Kabila out
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Congolese opposition on Saturday unveiled a rolling programme of strikes and civil disobedience aimed at forcing President Joseph Kabila from power. The announcement was made after two days of opposition talks in Kinshasa amid concerns that Kabila, in power since 2001, is seeking …
Read More »UN to close five peacekeepers’ bases in eastern DR Congo
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Five UN peacekeepers’ bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo are to close at the end of July, the UN mission there announced Wednesday, describing it as a change in operational style. But the closures come against the background of cuts to the …
Read More »Congo M23 militia fighters seek refuge in Rwanda
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Thirty individuals claiming to be members of a Congolese militia group have sought refuge in neighbouring Rwanda, saying they were fleeing a Congo army offensive, the Rwandan government said Monday. The fighters were unarmed when they were apprehended after crossing the border near the Rubavu …
Read More »Seven killed in eastern Congo by Ugandan rebels
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Seven people were killed overnight in an attack in eastern DR Congo blamed on Ugandan rebel group the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the army said Thursday. “The ADF killed seven people and burned down houses” in Kasinga in the Beni region, army spokesman Mak …
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