Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 34 civilians were killed Sunday in a flare up of ethnic violence in restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, following a week of soaring tensions. “The provisional toll is 34 civilians killed,” said local official Joy Bokele, referring to an …
Read More »FEATURE: DR Congo’s business dreams flatlined by violence
Butembo, DR Congo | AFP | The question is so absurd that Butembo’s deputy mayor misses a beat before answering. What is the town’s unemployment rate? “Unemployment is the norm around these parts,” says Godefroid Kambere Matimbya. “There aren’t any businesses.” Butembo is no ghost town, but a city of …
Read More »‘Bye-Bye Kabila’ campaign launched in DR Congo
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Around a dozen opposition groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo united Tuesday in a campaign urging President Joseph Kabila to quit when his mandate officially ends on December 20. The “Bye-Bye Kabila” movement wants the president, who has been accused of delaying election …
Read More »DR Congo appoints new prime minister
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s president on Thursday named an opposition lawmaker and former diamond dealer as prime minister under a controversial power-sharing deal that effectively extends President Joseph Kabila’s term in office. Samy Badibanga will be the country’s next prime minister, according to a presidential decree …
Read More »DR Congo PM resigns but opposition wants Kabila to quit
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Congolese Prime Minister Augustin Matata resigned Monday to make way for an opposition figure to take his place following a controversial deal that effectively extends the president’s term in office. The decision to delay presidential polls until at least late 2017 was part of …
Read More »Angola seeks smooth exit for Kabila in DR Congo
United Nations, United States | AFP | Angola said Wednesday that a date must be set for presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo that will allow a smooth handover of power from President Joseph Kabila. Angola and France will be leading a Security Council visit to the DR …
Read More »Ugandan rebels hack six DR Congo civilians to death
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | Six civilians were hacked to death in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo in an attack by Ugandan Islamist rebels, local officials said Tuesday. Fighters from the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked a small village in North Kivu province on Monday, …
Read More »Advantage Mazembe after away draw in final
Blida, Algeria | AFP | Reluctant favourites TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo are poised to win the CAF Confederation Cup after drawing 1-1 at Mouloudia Bejaia of Algeria Saturday in the first leg of the final. Jonathan Bolingi, one of four Congolese in the Mazembe starting line-up, …
Read More »Great Lakes leaders want UN force in DRC bolstered amid unrest fears
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Leaders of the Great Lakes region called Thursday for the UN peacekeeping force in strife-torn DR Congo to be bolstered, as fears rise of an upsurge in violence linked to delayed presidential polls. At the end of two-day talks, they called for more contributions to …
Read More »Bemba, aides guilty of bribery during ICC war crimes trial
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | International judges on Wednesday found former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba and four close aides guilty of bribing and corrupting witnesses in a bid to derail his landmark war crimes trial. The case was “about the clear, and downright criminal behaviour of the five …
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