Goma, DR Congo | AFP | The bodies of 17 civilians apparently fleeing violence in the troubled North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo were found in Lake Edward, a local official said Tuesday. The civilians “drowned trying to flee clashes between the Mai-Mai and soldiers from the …
Read More »DR Congo opens inquiry into killing of dozens of Burundian refugees
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo said Sunday that it had opened an inquiry after soldiers fired on Burundian refugees in the eastern South Kivu province, killing dozens. Government spokesman Lambert Mende also claimed that many of those killed during the clashes were members of …
Read More »DR Congo bus accident leaves 25 dead, dozens injured
Kikwit, DR Congo | AFP | Twenty five people were killed and 57 others injured Sunday when a bus overturned in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to an official toll. The accident on National Road Number 1 caused “25 deaths and 57 serious injuries” according to …
Read More »WHO sounds alarm over DRCongo cholera epidemic
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The World #Health Organization on Saturday sounded the alarm over a #cholera outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has already claimed 528 lives and reached “worrying proportions”. The UN says cholera is a major public health problem in the country with millions …
Read More »New ‘Keep Uganda Free of Polio’ campaign targets 73 districts
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Concerned by the increasing numbers of refugees entering the country, Uganda’s Ministry of Health will September 9-11 roll out a House to House Polio Immunization campaign for children 0-5 years in 73 districts. “Currently, there is high cross-border movements of populations due to insecurity and cross border trade …
Read More »DR Congo temporarily bans import of key consumer goods
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities have banned imports of several popular consumer products in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo for six months to fight smuggling, Trade Minister Jean-Lucien Busa said Monday. “We have decided on the temporary restriction of imports in the western part of …
Read More »“LRA rebels” kidnap at least 10 in DR Congo
Bunia, DR Congo | AFP | At least 10 people, but possibly as many as 40, have been kidnapped in the Democratic Republic of Congo by suspected members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), local sources said Wednesday. “We condemn the kidnapping of 10 people from the village of …
Read More »DR Congo warlord accused of crimes against humanity surrenders
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Congolese rebel warlord Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka, wanted for crimes against humanity including mass rape, surrendered to UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday. Sheka was arrested in Mutongo, in the country’s North Kivu region by UN peacekeepers and was “transferred to …
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 »