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Tag: Democratic Republic of Congo

  • 2,900 soldiers from South Africa to be sent to Democratic Republic of Congo

    2,900 soldiers from South Africa to be sent to Democratic Republic of Congo

    South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent 2,900 soldiers to help fight against armed rebel groups in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    The soldiers will go to Congo as part of a mission from southern African countries. It was approved by a group of countries in that region in May of last year.

    Malawi and Tanzania will also send soldiers to help with the mission.

    The mission is taking the place of the East African regional force, which left DR Congo in December because the government thought it wasn’t working well.

    The deployment will cost South Africa 2 billion Rand ($105 million; £83 million) and will last until December this year, according to a statement from the presidency.

    The announcement comes as there is more fighting happening, which has caused many people to leave their homes in DR Congo. About seven million people have been forced to leave their homes because of different conflicts.

  • Opposition DR Congo demands demonstrations on inauguration day

    Opposition DR Congo demands demonstrations on inauguration day

    Three leaders who are against the government in the Democratic Republic of Congo want everyone in the country to protest on Saturday. This is the same day that President Félix Tshisekedi will be taking an oath for his second term as president.

    He got 73% of the votes in last month’s election and won, according to the electoral commission. However, many other candidates criticized the result and asked for the election to be done again because they did not think it was fair.

    Moïse Katumbi, Martin Fayulu, and Anzuluni Bembe asked people to join a protest on Saturday during an online meeting.

    They said that there was cheating and adding fake votes in the election.

    However, the main opposition candidates chose not to challenge the result in court, and the Constitutional Court has confirmed that Mr. Tshisekedi is the winner.

  • Ministers banned from voting in Congo over violence and fraud

    Ministers banned from voting in Congo over violence and fraud

    Three government leaders and four state leaders were not allowed to participate in the recent election in the Democratic Republic of Congo because they cheated and used force.

    They are not allowed to run in the elections along with 81 other candidates.

    However, the announcement did not talk about the election where President Félix Tshisekedi won by a lot.

    The other party says the whole election was unfair and wants it to happen again.

    However, out of the 19 candidates who are against the current government, only one has taken their case to court. The important people say they don’t trust the courts and want to protest, but they haven’t said when.

    The December 20th election had a lot of problems with getting everything organized and in place. Some parts of the big country needed an extra day because the event had to last longer than planned.

    Almost two out of three voting locations opened later than they were supposed to, and about 30% of the machines used for voting didn’t work on the first day, as reported by a group of people who were watching and monitoring the voting process.

    Many people waited a long time to vote. A lot of people got tired and left.

    In a statement, the electoral commission said 82 candidates were disqualified for cheating, stealing, hurting election workers and voters, and breaking equipment.

    Among those barred are:

    Antoinette Kipulu Kabenga is in charge of teaching people job skills.
    Didier Mukanzu is the minister in charge of regional integration.
    Nana Manuanina Kihimba works for the president.
    Gentiny Ngobila is the leader of Kinshasa province.

    They have not said anything about the accusations yet.

    The winners of the election have not been announced yet, but all the votes for the 82 people running have been cancelled.

    Around 100,000 people ran for office in the elections that took place on December 20th. The winner of the presidential election has been announced.

    The commission also said that elections would not happen in two of the country’s 484 areas where people vote. Voting was not allowed in 16 more areas in the east because armed groups were there in the region with a lot of minerals.

    Despite the issues, election leader Denis Kadima has said before that the president was chosen by the Congolese people.

    Mr Tshisekedi, who is 60 years old, was chosen as the leader for a second time. He got 73% of the votes, while the person closest to him in the election, Moise Katumbi, got 18%.

    Approximately 17 million out of the 41 million registered voters actually showed up to vote.

    President Tshisekedi will take an oath for his second term on 20 January.

  • DR Congo election: Felix Tshisekedi emerged victorious by overwhelming margins

    DR Congo election: Felix Tshisekedi emerged victorious by overwhelming margins

    President Félix Tshisekedi has been declared winner of the election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been condemned by some opposition candidates as “sham” in demanding a new vote.

    Officials said the president won about 73% of the vote, while his closest rival, Moise Katumbi, received 18%. The December 20 election was marred by many logistical problems.

    It had to extend into a second day in some parts of the vast country.

    According to one monitoring group, about two-thirds of polling stations opened late, while 30% of voting machines did not work on the first day of voting.

    Millions of people waited hours to vote, while some gave up and went home.

    The opposition says the issues are part of a deliberate plan to rig the outcome in favor of 60-year-old Tshisekedi. Some main opponents called for protests after Sunday’s announcement.

    “We call on our people to take to the streets en masse following claims of election fraud,” they said in a joint statement.

    The army was deployed to different areas of the capital Kinshasa to prevent chaos, while Mr Tshisekedi’s supporters took to the streets to celebrate.

    The head of the election commission earlier said opposition candidates wanted new elections because they “know they have lost. they are big losers”.

    Election head Denis Kadima admitted some irregularities but insisted the results reflected the will of the Congolese people.

    President Tshisekedi will be sworn in for a second term on January 20. Son of former opposition fighter Étienne Tshisekedi, the president was first elected in 2019. It followed a vote in which some observers, including the influential Catholic Church, said former oil executive Martin Fayulu had won.

    He ranked third in this election with 5% of the votes. None of the remaining 16 candidates received more than 1% of the vote. Mr Kadima said voter turnout was about 43% of the 41 million registered voters.

    It is unclear whether any of the 18 opposition candidates will challenge the results in court. Mr Katumbi has said it is not worth it because the courts are not independent.

    The Constitutional Court has 10 days to hear possible legal challenges before announcing the final results on January 10, 2024.

    The DRC is about four times the size of France but lacks basic infrastructure. Even some of its main cities are not connected by road.

    About two-thirds of the country’s 100 million people live below the poverty line, earning $2. 15 a day or less. Voters also choose congressional, provincial and city representatives, with a total of about 100,000 candidates.

    During the election campaign, Mr. Tshisekedi repeatedly attacked Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whom he accused of supporting the M23 rebel group that is occupying territory in the east of the country.

    Rwanda has repeatedly denied these accusations. At his last election campaign, Mr. Tshisekedi pledged to declare war on Rwanda, although observers dismissed the declaration as rhetoric aimed at stoking nationalist sentiment.

    Elections have not been held in the country’s eastern regions due to fighting that has plagued the region for three decades.

    Some seven million people have been forced from their homes, more than in any other country except Sudan.

    Dozens of armed groups are fighting for control of areas in the region, where most of the country’s vast mineral resources are located.

    This includes huge reserves of cobalt, the key element in many lithium batteries, considered essential for a future free of fossil fuels.

  • US ban on Ugandan prison officer due to LGBT mistreatment

    US ban on Ugandan prison officer due to LGBT mistreatment

    The US has punished the leader of Uganda’s prison system for allegedly allowing mistreatment and torture of LGBT+ people and government critics.

    Twenty people from different countries around the world have been punished for treating people unfairly.

    One of them is Jefferson Koijee, who is the mayor of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. The US says he is in charge of paramilitary groups linked to his political party.

    Three militia leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been put on the sanctions list. Their names are William Yakutumba, Willy Ngoma, and Michel Rukunda.

    Former president’s son, Jean-Francis Bozizé, is being accused of bringing weapons for the rebel group CPC in the Central African Republic. His friend Mahamat Salleh is a leader in a group called CPC. He is accused of hurting girls by making them do things they don’t want to do.

    In South Sudan, it is said that county commissioners Gordon Koang Biel and Gatluak Nyang Hoth let government-aligned forces and their allies rape women and children as a reward.

    They have been punished with Joseph Mantiel Wajang, the governor in Unity State who the US says chose both men for those positions of power even though they were accused of serious things.

    They and everyone else on the list for Friday will not be allowed to come into the US.
    Or do business with people or companies in the US.

  • East African troops withdraw from Democratic Republic of Congo over criticism

    East African troops withdraw from Democratic Republic of Congo over criticism

    Soldiers from East African countries went to Congo to fight against M23 rebels one year ago. The Congolese government does not think they have been successful, and their mission will end on Friday.

    Soldiers from Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, and South Sudan are returning home because President Félix Tshisekedi did not want them to stay any longer and officials were not happy with how they were doing their job.

    Soldiers from the South African region are going to replace the soldiers from East Africa, but we don’t know when they will come.

    In other news, the rebel group M23 took over the town of Mushaki, which is 40km (25 miles) from Goma, the main city in Nord Kivu province, known for its valuable minerals.

    The rebels took control of the town on 7 December by fighting with the Congolese army. Mushaki is an important place for moving things around in the area. The M23 group and the army have fought over control of it many times.

    Democratic Republic of Congo will have a big vote on December 20th.

  • Fourth-party contender from Democratic Republic of Congo supports former governor for president

    Fourth-party contender from Democratic Republic of Congo supports former governor for president

    Another person running for president in the Democratic Republic of Congo has decided to stop trying and instead help a different candidate, Moïse Katumbi, who used to be a governor and is now in opposition.

    Delly Sesanga, a lawyer and MP from Kasai-Central province, has stepped out of the race. Now there are 21 opposition candidates running for the top job.

    They will be running against the current President Felix Tshisekedi, who wants to be President again for a second time.

    Mr Sesanga deciding to step back is helping the opposition come together more, especially after former prime minister Matata Ponyo and two other candidates, Seth Kikuni and Franck Diongo, already showed their support for Mr Katumbi.

    “I have decided to join forces and support Moise Katumbi’s campaign for unity,” he said on Sunday, asking his supporters to vote for Katumbi.

    There were talks in the South African capital Pretoria to pick one person from the opposition to run against Mr. Tshisekedi However, they were not able to come to an agreement and the discussions ended on 17th November.

    The election campaigns began two weeks ago and will end on 18 December, which is two days before the elections on 20 December.

    During the campaign, six people died in a stampede at Mr. Tshisekedi’s rally in Mbanza-Ngungu city.

    On Tuesday, a person who supports Mr. Katumbi was killed at a gathering while fighting with people who support the ruling party in the eastern Maniema province.

  • At least 50 people have died in DR Congo boat disaster

    At least 50 people have died in DR Congo boat disaster

    Officials in Equateur province in the Democratic Republic of Congo found an additional 10 bodies from a boat accident that occurred on Sunday. This brings the total number of people who died to 54.

    The health and humanitarian affairs minister for the province, Luc-Didier Mbula, also mentioned that 267 people were saved.

    Officials think that approximately 50 people are still unaccounted for, but they couldn’t find the list of passengers because the person who owned the boat also died.

    The accident occurred early on Sunday when a wooden boat sank in the Lulanga River in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    This is the second very bad boat crash to happen in the country this month.

    On 13 October, a boat made of wood sunk at the port of Mbandaka in the capital of Equateur. This caused 63 people to die and over 100 are still missing.

    The Transport Minister, Mark Ekila, announced that there have been 88 boat accidents just this year. 80% of these accidents happened because the boats were either old wood boats or because they were sailing at night, which is against the rules.

    The government said it is going to make stricter rules. This includes not letting old ships be used and keeping people separate from cargo and pets while they travel.

    DR Congo is very big and has bad transportation, so most people have to travel in old and unsafe boats.

  • One of Kenya’s soldiers killed in DR Congo mortar strike

    One of Kenya’s soldiers killed in DR Congo mortar strike

    A soldier from Kenya who was part of a group of soldiers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was killed when rebels unexpectedly attacked them.

    The spokesperson of DR Congo, Patrick Muyaya, informed the BBC that a soldier died on Tuesday in a fight between the regional forces and M23 rebels in the Kibumba area.

    The Kenyan authorities did not comment right away.

    This is the first time a Kenyan soldier has died since they joined the military group last year.

    The army in the Democratic Republic of Congo expressed their disapproval of the killing and said that the M23 group is responsible for it.

    It was reported that the rebels shot a mortar at the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) positions.

    The military in the Democratic Republic of Congo said that the attack had the intention of causing confusion between them and the EACRF.

    The M23 rebels did not respond right away to the accusation, but they said in a statement that the government forces have broken the ceasefire.

    DR Congo’s government has been very unhappy with the local military for not being able to prevent the violence.

    The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced that it will not extend the EACRF agreement, which is set to expire in December.

    Kenya has sent over 1,000 soldiers to the mission, along with troops from Uganda, South Sudan, and Burundi.

    More information provided by Ian Wafula in Nairobi and Emery Makumeno in Kinshasa.

  • Kitshanga town in Democratic Republic of Congo recaptured by rebels

    Kitshanga town in Democratic Republic of Congo recaptured by rebels

    Fighting has started again in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fighting is between the government forces and rebels from the M23 group.

    People who live there say that the rebels are in control of Kitshanga town in North Kivu province since Saturday.

    According to a local radio station, multiple individuals were injured by gunshots and have been transported to the hospital.

    “The rebels are currently in Kitshanga, and we are working on finding a way to recapture the town,” explained a security source to AFP news agency.

    There have been several changes in ownership of the area since the start of the year.

    Fighting started again three weeks ago after a period of six months without fighting. In the past, a group of countries around Congo used to send their forces to patrol the area.

  • DR Congo waives its visa requirement for Kenyans

    DR Congo waives its visa requirement for Kenyans

    The Democratic Republic of Congo has decided that Kenyans no longer need a visa to travel there.

    The Director General of Migration in DR Congo, Roland Kashwantale Chihoza, made an announcement on Wednesday.

    Kenya has waived requirements for people from Congo visiting their country. And in return, Congo has done the same for people from Kenya visiting their country.

    Kenya said it was getting rid of obstacles to let people move freely and promote trade within the East African Community (EAC).

    DR Congo joined the EAC as its seventh member last year.

  • Soldiers undergo trial a for fatal anti-UN rally in Congo

    Soldiers undergo trial a for fatal anti-UN rally in Congo

    Six soldiers are currently facing trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the murder of over 40 people who were protesting against the United Nations last week.

    Two high-ranking officers are accused of telling soldiers to shoot at the protest, which was not allowed.

    The people in the eastern city of Goma held a protest to ask the UN and regional peacekeepers to leave.

    Protesters say they didn’t do a good job keeping people safe from rebel attacks in the east for many years.

    The case is taking place at a military court in Goma, the main city in a region called North Kivu, which has lots of valuable minerals and many rebel groups. Last year, the M23 fighters took control of big parts of this area.

    The soldiers were accused of doing very bad things to innocent people and not doing what their leaders told them to do.

    One of the six people on trial, Col Mike Mikombe, leads the special forces called the Republican Guard in Goma. He was the only person who said he didn’t do what he was accused of when the meeting started on Tuesday.

    It is not clear if the defendants actually shot any guns during the protest last Wednesday.

    A religious group planned a protest, but the government said they couldn’t do it. The UN peacekeeping mission in eastern DR Congo (Monusco) has experienced many demonstrations since last year.

    Monusco currently has about 18,000 people in the country, and over 12,000 of them are soldiers. It has been decided that the force will leave after the elections in December.

    The government gave an update on the recent anti-UN protest in Goma. According to them, 43 people have died, including a police officer who was allegedly killed by the protesters. Fifty-three people got hurt.

    However, the United Nations Human Rights Office mentioned that more people could have died, and a military prosecutor named Colonel Michel Kachil informed the court that 56 individuals were killed.

    More than 150 people were taken into custody by the security forces during the crackdown.

    People are very angry in DR Congo because of what happened, and Human Rights Watch says the way the soldiers reacted was very cruel and against the law.

    The military tribunal happens after the country’s ministers in charge of internal affairs and defense went to Goma to examine the incident.

    The government said they are bringing the military leader of North Kivu, General Constant Ndima, back to the capital city, Kinshasa, to talk about things. This information was reported by the AFP news agency.

    On Wednesday, it was revealed that Jacques Ndulu Ichaligonza had taken over from Gen Ndima as the temporary military governor.

    In May 2021, the regions of North Kivu and Ituri in the east were placed under martial law to try to stop the rebel groups and armed militias.

    A year and a half later, a group of soldiers was sent to eastern DR Congo to help the military’s efforts.

    Even though there were protests against peacekeeping, the leaders of East African countries agreed to continue sending their troops on Tuesday.

  • DR Congo’s parliament votes to end military rule in the east

    DR Congo’s parliament votes to end military rule in the east

    The majority of attendees at a three-day meeting in the parliament of the Democratic Republic of Congo have decided to end military control in two eastern provinces that have been severely impacted by long-running insecurity.

    In order to combat armed groups operating in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, the central government imposed the state of siege in May 2021, replacing civil rule with military control.

    However, Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ report to the UN Security Council last week stated that the situation in the two provinces, where about four million people have been evacuated, has gotten worse.

    “The siege situation provided us nothing…The populace is sick of it. Let the civilians regain control,” Béatrice Nyiramugeyo, a member of parliament who attended the conference, told the BBC Great Lakes.

    According to MP Fabrice Adenonga, 195 of the 196 attendees of the consultative conference that ended on Wednesday voted in favour of lifting the state of siege, according to UN-backed Radio Okapi.

    President Félix Tshisekedi must now “eventually react” to the situation, according to government spokesman Patrick Muyaya, who spoke at a press conference in Kinshasa.

  • France denounces Rwanda’s “ongoing military support” for M23 Rebels in DRC

    France denounces Rwanda’s “ongoing military support” for M23 Rebels in DRC

    On Tuesday, France demanded a halt to Rwanda’s “ongoing military support” for the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s east and denounced the crimes committed by the many terror organizations terrorizing the area.

    “France is concerned by reports confirming the continued presence of the M23 in territories in the east of the DRC, Rwanda’s ongoing military support for this armed group and the presence of Rwandan soldiers on Congolese territory. This support, which we condemn, must cease”, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    A mainly Tutsi rebellion, the M23, accused by the UN of numerous crimes in the east of the DRC, took up arms again at the end of 2021 after ten years of dormancy and has seized vast swathes of territory in the Congolese province of North Kivu, bordering Rwanda and Uganda.

    “The commitments made by the various regional players must now be put into practice in order to speed up the withdrawal of the M23 from the occupied territories, to confine this group and to encourage all armed groups to commit to the national demobilization and disarmament process”, continues the Quai d’Orsay, which raises the possibility of “sanctions against those who obstruct peace”.

    During his trip to the DRC in March, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a warning to Kigali, without however clearly condemning Rwanda.

    In its statement, the Quai d’Orsay also condemned “the many abuses committed by the armed groups cited in the latest report by the UN group of experts”. In addition to the M23, other groups such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Mai Mai and the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) are terrorizing the region.

    These violations “cannot go unpunished”, emphasizes the Quai d’Orsay, calling for an end to “the support given by the Congolese armed forces to certain armed groups such as the FDLR”.

    In a report published on Monday, UN experts sounded the alarm over the “galloping violence” and “growing humanitarian needs” in the east of the DRC. They also established that the ADF rebels were receiving financial support from the Islamic State (ISIS) group.

  • Uganda school attack: Islamic State group allegedly kills 40

    Uganda school attack: Islamic State group allegedly kills 40

    Rebels associated with the Islamic State group have carried out a devastating assault on a school in western Uganda, resulting in the deaths of approximately 40 individuals, primarily students.

    The tragic incident took place at Lhubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe, where a group of boys residing in the school’s dormitories were among those killed.

    Currently, eight individuals remain in critical condition following the attack.

    The responsibility for the Friday assault has been attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan organization operating from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    NB: Some people may find details in this story distressing.

    Many of the bodies were transferred to Bwera Hospital, national police spokesperson Fred Enanga said.

    A dormitory at the school was burnt and a food store was looted during the incident, he added.

    Some of the boys were burnt or hacked to death, and others, especially the girls, were abducted, Major General Dick Olum from the Ugandan army told the media.

    Some of the bodies are said to have been badly burnt and DNA tests will need to be carried out to identify them.

    The attackers are said to have torched the students’ mattresses and are also thought to have detonated bombs in the region.

    Members of the wider community possibly among the dead. A number of students remain unaccounted for.

    Soldiers are pursuing ADF insurgents towards the DRC’s Virunga National park – Africa’s oldest and largest national park which is home to rare species, including mountain gorillas.

    Militias including the ADF also use the vast expanse, which borders Uganda and Rwanda, as a hideout.

    “Our forces are pursuing the enemy to rescue those abducted and destroy this group,” defence spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said on Twitter.

    Uganda and the DRC have held joint military operations in the east Congo to prevent attacks by the ADF.

    Security forces had intelligence that rebels were in the border area on the DRC side for at least two days before Friday night’s attack, Major General Olum said.

    The deadly episode follows last week’s attack by suspected ADF fighters in a village in the DRC near to the Ugandan border. Over 100 villagers fled to Uganda but have since returned.

    The attack on the school, located less than two kilometres (1.25 miles) from the DRC border, is the first such attack on a Ugandan school in 25 years.

    In June 1998, 80 students were burnt to death in their dormitories in an ADF attack on Kichwamba Technical Institute near the border of DRC. More than 100 students were abducted.

    The ADF was created in eastern Uganda in the 1990s and took up arms against long-serving President, Yoweri Museveni, alleging government persecution of Muslims.

    After its defeat by the Ugandan army in 2001, it relocated to North Kivu province in the DRC.

    The group’s principal founder, Jamil Makulu, was arrested in Tanzania in 2015 and is in custody in a Ugandan prison.

    ADF rebels have been operating from inside the DRC for the past two decades.

    In 2021, suicide bombings in Uganda’s capital Kampala and other parts of the country were blamed on the ADF.

  • Man frees nine entrapped diggers at a gold mine using just his bare hands

    Man frees nine entrapped diggers at a gold mine using just his bare hands

    This amazing rescue of nine guys from a cave-in gold mine by a man using only his bare hands happened at this exact time.

    The worker, smeared in dirt, hangs onto the steep hill and frantically scoops up handfuls of rubble while wearing only a helmet for safety.

    He grabs a man within the hole, pulls him out, and then goes back to look for more survivors while keeping a wary eye on falling rocks.

    He rushes swiftly out of the way as Rubble suddenly tumbles down the slope.

    But the brave hero wastes no time going back again and, with the help of another man, makes sure to grab the remaining miners who leap out to safety.

    It happens nine times to the sound of cheers from the watching crowd.

    GRABS from video of miners rescue Credit: Reuters
    The heroic man used his hands to clear out the entrance to the mine (Picture: Reuters)
    GRABS from video of miners rescue Credit: Reuters
    Nine men were pulled out of the collapsed mine (Picture: Reuters)
    GRABS from video of miners rescue Credit: Reuters
    The crowd cheered as men leaped from the mine (Picture: Reuters)

    The collapse followed heavy rainfall in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    Accidents like these happen all too frequently in the central African country, especially at small, artisanal sites.

    The DRC has been wrapped up in war for more than two decades.

    It is currently in the middle of The Second Congo War, also called the Great African War, which started in 1998.

    The origins of the conflict are complicated but gold mines have played a huge role in the fighting as different groups want control of the wealth they offer.

    The UN has previously accused other countries, including Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe, of illegally exploiting the DRC’s resources during the unrest.

  • Pope Francis in DR Congo: A million celebrate Kinshasa Mass

    Pope Francis in DR Congo: A million celebrate Kinshasa Mass

    Pope Francis has celebrated one of his biggest Masses, with around a million attendees in Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, estimates say.

    Huge crowds started to gather in Kinshasa well before dawn, including scores of schoolgirls dressed in white who danced along the Pope’s route.

    A public holiday was declared, so as many people as possible could attend.

    Around half of DR Congo’s population is Catholic – the largest Catholic community in Africa.

    It is more than 37 years since a pope had visited the mineral-rich but conflict-ridden country.

    Crowds to see mass
    Image caption, Africa is considered the future of Catholicism, but some say it should have more representation
    Pope in vehicle surrounding my hundreds of people
    Image caption, Many people gathered in the early hours of the morning to see the Pope

    A 700-person choir, that had been practising together long before the pontiff was originally due to visit last July, had been assembled specifically for the event. The Pope’s original visit had to be postponed because of poor health.

    There had been some murmurings that the Pope has not been as critical of DR Congo’s political leadership as some had hoped, but the Mass at N’dole airport was a joyful event, and the pontiff did have a strong message of peace for those engaging in conflict in the country.

    On the second of his six-day visit to Africa, he said warring sides should forgive one another and grant their opponents a “great amnesty of the heart”.

    He went on to espouse the benefits of cleansing one’s heart of “anger and remorse, of every trace of resentment and hostility”.

    Pope in Kinshasa waving
    Image caption, It has been nearly four decades since a pope visited DR Congo
    Woman dancing at Pope's mass
    Image caption, There were jubilant scenes in Kinshasa as the Pope delivered a message on forgiveness

    Wednesday’s Mass was tipped to be one of Pope Francis’ largest-ever Masses, second only to one held in the Philippines in 2015, according to Christopher Lamb, the Rome correspondent of the Catholic magazine The Tablet.

    In an interview with the BBC’s Newsday radio programme, he said Catholicism was growing in Africa: “This is the future of the church and the growth of the Catholic Church in Africa really is so important to the future of Catholicism.”

    On Tuesday, the Pope met President Félix Tshisekedi and delivered a speech condemning historical exploitation of Africa’s resources, which he described as “economic colonialism”.

    He also addressed DR Congo’s plight, as minerals have played a key role in more than three decades of armed conflict there: “Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa! Stop choking Africa, it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered.”

    However, a planned visit to the eastern city of Goma has been cancelled for security reasons. The eastern part of DR Congo is facing escalating violence as security services fight against armed militia groups.

    According to the United Nations, some six million people have been forced to flee their homes in DR Congo.

    That is one of the largest populations of displaced people in the world, alongside places like Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Ukraine.

    Most of the displaced are in the eastern provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri.

    Crowd to see Pope's mass
    Image caption, The Pope’s welcome to DR Congo has been described as vibrant
    Clergymen

    Source: BBC

  • Fighting threatens eastern town in Democratic Republic of Congo

    Fighting threatens eastern town in Democratic Republic of Congo

    Fighting has intensified around  Kitchanga, a town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the M23 rebel group seeks to expand its territory.

    The group has increased pressure on government troops defending the town in North Kivu province, which has led to hundreds of civilians fleeing their homes.

    Videos on social media appeared to show fighters in the M23 group celebrating and claiming they’d captured the town. It was impossible to independently verify their authenticity.

    Kinshasa for months has accused neighbouring Rwanda of supporting the M23 group — whose origins lie in the region’s ethnic fighting — and powerful voices in the West have openly agreed. Rwanda denies backing the group, which is one of the dozens operating in the mineral-rich east.

    At a Nov. 23 summit in Angola, which included Congo’s president and Rwanda’s foreign minister, regional leaders called for a cease-fire in eastern Congo to be followed by a withdrawal of rebels from major towns under M23 control.

    The group said it would leave some of the occupied territories before Jan. 15, but some areas remain under its control and it’s seeking to capture others from government forces. M23 has been accused by the United Nations and rights groups of atrocities against civilians.

    Kitchanga is a key town as it sits on the last open route between North Kivu’s main economic hubs of Goma and Butembo. The others were cut off due to the fighting.

    Many of Kitchanga’s inhabitants fled Thursday’s violence.

    “We have just been through the war in Kitchanga, we saw M23 killing people, we were afraid, that’s why we fled so we wouldn’t die too,” said Angelique Mukeshimana. The mother of four went to a makeshift displacement site on the outskirts of Goma, some 150 kilometres away, leaving all her belongings behind.

    The fighting comes days before Pope Francis is due in Congo’s capital Kinshasa for a three-day visit. The trip was originally supposed to include a stop in the east, however, the Vatican scrapped that amid the rising violence.

    M23′s political spokesman, Lawrence Kanyuka, in a statement on Thursday accused government troops of attacking civilians in Kitchanga and elsewhere, and said the rebel group was “obliged to intervene and stop another genocide.”

    A spokesperson for a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo said more than 500 civilians have taken refuge in and around the U.N. peacekeeping base in Kitchanga, where they’ve been given tents, food, water and first aid.

    “The M23 must cease all hostilities and withdraw from the occupied areas,” Ndeye Khady Lo said.

    Analysts say the rebel group’s drive to expand has devastating consequences for civilians.

    “If reports that the group has taken control of Kitchanga … are true, this is yet another indication of the group’s ongoing territorial ambitions and apparent unwillingness to withdraw,” said Daniel Levine-Spound, a researcher at the Center for Civilians in Conflict.

    “The group’s continued westward expansion also raises meaningful fears that M23 could seek to fully encircle Goma. Sustained international pressure, including on M23’s backers, will be critical in halting the group’s advance,” he said.

    Largely comprised of Congolese ethnic Tutsis, M23 rose to prominence 10 years ago when it seized Goma on the border with Rwanda. It’s part of a long line of rebel groups linked with Rwanda since the 1990s when the country sought out ethnic Hutu militias, who had fled to Congo after killing Rwandan Tutsis during the genocide.

    Source: Africa News

  • Electrically charged stones that can power generators discovered in DR Congo

    Electrically charged stones that can power generators discovered in DR Congo

    It has been reported that electrically charged stones that can power generators have been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    According to courses, these stones could serve as a primary source of electricity to fix the needs of the people in that area.

    A video making the rounds shows how these stones, when connected by wires, could effortlessly switch on electric light bulbs.

    Many believe the stones could be vibranium, but that has yet to be confirmed. However, the stones possess electricity currents high enough to give a minimal shock.

    DR Congo is one of the few nations blessed with massive natural resources, including dynamite, platinum, etc.

    Check out the video below…

  • DRC Demolishes Market Stalls for Pope Visit

    DRC Demolishes Market Stalls for Pope Visit

    Sanitary police armed with crowbars and a bulldozer set about demolishing makeshift trader stalls crowding downtown streets in the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of a four-day visit by Pope Francis starting Jan. 31

    Standing to one side with a swollen face after he fell while scuffling with police in an unsuccessful effort to save his wares, telephone accessories seller David Mbemba, 19, said he had lost around 100,500 DRC francs ($50) worth of goods.

    Officials say Kinshasa, a vast impoverished city of 17 million people, is getting a facelift not just to honour the pope but to make its streets and pavements more tidy and orderly even after he’s gone home. But evicted small traders protest that their livelihoods are being destroyed in the process.

    The livelihoods of many families in Congo depend on the so-called informal sector of the economy – street stalls, kiosks and hawkers selling a cornucopia of items including food and other basic household goods.

    “I am a widow. I have to pay my rent, school fees of my children…I will now starve to death,” said Marth Kayunga, a vendor in the informal market on one of the side streets off Lumumba Boulevard targeted by the sanitary police brigade.

    “We knew this operation was to clean up Lumumba Boulevard ahead of the Pope’s visit that we are all waiting for,” said Jesus, a hardware shop owner who gave only his first name.

    Lumumba Boulevard is the main thoroughfare leading to the airport, where a gala welcome will be staged for Pope Francis. Authorities had warned that development works would be carried out on sites where the Pope will be received.

    “We are surprised the police are coming into the smaller streets because they told us they were just going to remove debris from the main avenue. It’s not fair,” Jesus said, adding that his shop was also torn down.

    A spokesperson for the police said only that they were working under the directives of Kinshasa’s regional governor and city authorities such as Ya Lala, who was with the police on the ground directing the operation.

    “The clean-up we are doing just now is not only because the Pope is coming,” George Ya Lala, Kinshasa city coordinator for the campaign said, adding the operation would continue even after the Pope went home.

    Other sellers like Jean Mbuyu said they had lost everything because they had no prior warning of the clean-up.

    Ya Lala disputed this, saying traders had been warned several times to relocate before the police moved in, leaving a chaotic trail of wreckage as they smashed stall after stall, with crowds of traders, family and friends watching in dismay.

    Asked for comment on the evictions of traders, the Apostolic Nunciature, Vatican’s diplomatic representation in Kinshasa, told Reuters in a text message that it was not aware of the clean-up operations and had no part in them.

    It said the Vatican had only requested that preparations for Francis’s visit be done “in the most sober way. We obviously want the reception sites to be able to accommodate the greatest number of faithful in a secure way and for roads to be secure.”

  • DR Congo out of U-17 Afcon after age checks

    DR Congo out of U-17 Afcon after age checks

    Democratic Republic of Congo have been forced to pull out of a regional qualifying tournament for the 2023 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations after 25 out of 40 players failed mandatory age testing.

    It is the latest age fraud scandal to hit the Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC) qualifiers after 32 players from host nation Cameroon failed age tests ordered by Samuel Eto’o, president of the country’s governing body, Fecafoot.

    After a race against time, BBC Sport Africa understands Cameroon has found 30 replacement players who have all passed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests in Douala.

    But as the Indomitable Lions’ opening fixture in Limbe was supposed to be against DR Congo, they will not now be able to kick off the tournament on 12 January as scheduled.

    A statement by the Congolese football federation (Fecofa) said it was forced to withdraw after “only 15 were eligible and 25 failed of the 40 players submitted for MRI testing.”

    However, of the 15 players who passed the age test, the statement also revealed “only five managed to complete the necessary administrative formalities” that would have allowed them to travel to Cameroon.

    Four countries – Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Chad and Central African Republic – will now take part in the qualifying competition, with UNIFFAC rescheduling fixtures between 12 and 24 January.

    Two teams will progress to April’s Under-17 Nations Cup finals in Algeria.

    “It’s an organisational nightmare because we have to quickly come up with a new format that will involve four nations instead of the original five,” a UNIFFAC official told BBC Sport Africa.

    “We are happy that after the MRI scans, all four nations now have a team.”

    The Confederation of African Football (Caf), which enforces the MRI age scans, has been contacted for comment.

    • The fight against age cheats

    Many of Africa’s international successes in junior tournaments have been clouded by allegations of the use of overage players.

    Fifa banned Nigeria from all international fixtures for two years after finding that the birth dates of three of their players in the 1988 Olympics were different from those used by the same players in previous tournaments.

    In 2003, Kenya’s Under-17 team was dissolved by the government after some players admitted to age fraud.

    Seven months ago, Ghana were banned from the next two editions of qualifying for the Women’s U-17 World Cup and fined $100,000 after being found guilty.

    Djibouti, Sudan, Somalia and Congo-Brazzaville have all also suffered disqualifications from major tournaments whilst Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea, Benin, Sierra Leone and Uganda have all been notable offenders.

    Cameroon legend Eto’o promised to take action to combat the long-running problem when he was elected Fecafoot president in December 2021.

    3-4 minutes

  • Rwanda and DRC end year with icy relations as fresh allegations emerge

    Rwanda and DRC end year with icy relations as fresh allegations emerge

    Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are trading accusations over alleged territorial violations and espionage, which could dampen the hope for any ebbing of tensions between the two countries.

    On Wednesday, Kigali said a Congolese military plane had trespassed into Rwandan territory, the second such incident raised in more than a month. Kinshasa did not immediately respond, although it had admitted to an earlier violation in November, terming it as an “unfortunate” disorientation by the pilot.

    The spark was touched off on Tuesday after authorities in DRC said they were holding two Rwandans and two Congolese citizens accused of spying for Kigali under the cover of their day jobs.

    The four were presented in Kinshasa and described as “spies for Rwandan authorities who operate in Kinshasa under the cover of NGO African Health Development Organisation, AHDO.”

    According to a brief from the Deputy Minister of Interior, Jean-Claude Molipe, one of the Rwandans is a medical doctor while the other is a soldier with the Rwandan Defence Force.

    Mr. Molipe claimed that “these spies had infiltrated senior army officers, political figures, economic operators, and members of civil society.”
    The Congolese nationals are affiliated with AHDO. The Rwandans had, in fact, been arrested in August, a matter that caused a diplomatic protest from Kigali.

    Rwanda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta on November 4 wrote to Congolese counterpart Christophe Lutundula to demand the “unconditional release” of the two Rwandans. In response to the incident in November, the DRC government said its jet “unfortunately” entered Rwandan airspace and that it had “never harbored intentions of violating that of its neighbor.”

    Rwanda did not immediately respond to the latest espionage allegations but, on Wednesday, Kigali accused DRC of violating its airspace. A statement said a Sukhoi-25 fighter jet from DRC violated Rwandan airspace along Lake Kivu in the Western Province at around midday. Rwanda accuses DRC of repeated violations, against the spirit of Luanda and Nairobi peace initiatives.

    “The authorities in the DRC seem to be emboldened by consistent coddling by some in the international community, who repeatedly heap blame on Rwanda for all ills in the DRC while ignoring the transgressions originating from the DRC,” the Rwandan government said in a statement issued December 29.

    The Nairobi and Luanda peace initiatives are two peace-seeking processes for the eastern part of DR Congo, which is plagued by war between the M23 rebels and the Congolese army. Eastern DRC is also home to dozens of local and foreign armed groups, responsible for several massacres and abuses against civilians.

    The Nairobi and Luanda process recommended a ceasefire and de-escalation between the DRC and the M23 rebels, but also to cool tensions between Rwanda and the DRC, who accuse one another of sponsoring rebels against their authorities. The Nairobi process was signed between the DRC government and about 50 armed groups (apart from the M23) in search of peace.

    The DRC, now joined by France and the US, has sustained allegations that M23 receives backing from Rwanda, a charge Kigali rejects.

    On Tuesday, Congolese officials made accusations about the four people arrested. Molipe said the four had acquired “a large amount of land in the areas [near] N’djili International Airport and the Kibomango military base.” The airport is Kinshasa’s biggest while the base lies east of Kinshasa, a few kilometers from the city center.

    The Deputy Minister of the Interior and Security added that the fact that these people had acquired land near the airport suggested: “they were preparing for a Machiavellian plan.”

    “The arrested Rwandan soldier revealed that he had access to different strategic sites in Kinshasa, in complicity with some general officers of the Congolese army.”

    He said that investigations are continuing to arrest “military or civilian accomplices.” With the continual tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa, there is a risk of deteriorating the fragile relations between the two EAC partners.

    Source:

  • COP15: Nations reach ‘historic’ deal to protect nature

    In a “historic” accord designed to maintain biodiversity, nations have committed to protect a third of the world by 2030.

    There will also be targets for protecting vital ecosystems such as rainforests and wetlands and the rights of indigenous peoples.

    The agreement at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada, came early on Monday morning.

    The summit had been moved from China and postponed due to Covid.

    China, which was still in charge of the meeting, brought down the gavel on the deal despite a last minute objection from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    The main points of the agreement include:

    • Maintaining, enhancing and restoring ecosystems, including halting species extinction and maintaining genetic diversity
    • “Sustainable use” of biodiversity – essentially ensuring that species and habitats can provide the services they provide for humanity, such as food and clean water
    • Ensuring that the benefits of resources from nature, like medicines that come from plants, are shared fairly and equally and that indigenous peoples’ rights are protected
    • Paying for and putting resources into biodiversity: Ensuring that money and conservation efforts get to where they are needed.

    The summit in Montreal had been regarded as a “last chance” to put nature on a path to recovery. Throughout the talks there was division over the strength of ambition and how to finance the plans.

    One big sticking point was over how to fund conservation efforts in the parts of the globe that harbour some of the world’s most outstanding biodiversity.

    Biodiversity refers to all the Earth’s living things and the way they are connected in a complex web of life that sustains the planet.

     

    Lady birdGetty Images

    Biodiversity includes all living things, big and small, and the way they fit together in a web of life

    A new text of the agreement was released by China on Sunday.

    Delegates convened a full session of the summit early on Monday morning after hours of delays, but then agreed to the text quickly.

    The president of COP 15, Minister Huang Runqui, declared the deal approved despite objections from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which said it couldn’t back the deal.

    Georgina Chandler, senior international policy advisor for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said people and nature should both be better off thanks to the deal struck in Montreal.

    “Now it’s done, governments, companies and communities need to figure out how they’ll help make these commitments a reality.”

    Sue Lieberman of the Wildlife Conservation Society said the agreement was a compromise, and although it had several good and hard-fought elements, it could have gone further “to truly transform our relationship with nature and stop our destruction of ecosystems, habitats and species”.

    The agreement follows days of intense negotiations. On Saturday, ministers made impassioned speeches about the need to agree on clear goals to put nature on a path to recovery by the end of the decade.

    “Nature is our ship. We must ensure it stays afloat,” said EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius.

    Colombia’s environment minister, Susana Muhamed, drew applause when she called for ambition in protecting the planet for the good of all. “Nature does not have boundaries,” she said.

    Source: BBC

  • Rising numbers of cholera cases and deaths in Goma

    Goma, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo‘s North Kivu province, has been declared to be experiencing a cholera outbreak.

    The majority of the cases, according to North Kivu’s governor, Lt. Gen. Constant Ndima, have been reported in transitory camps housing internally displaced people affected by the ongoing war.

    “A lot of patients who are suffering from diarrhoea, loss of fluids and some of them are vomiting.” Lt Ndima told journalists on Wednesday evening.

    The governor says more than 600 cases and four deaths have been reported. However, non–governmental organisations offering support to the victims say the numbers are higher than official figures.

    Those living in the camps have complained about the lack of food, shelter, latrines, and showers – optimal conditions for cholera to spread.

    Cholera is usually caught by eating or drinking contaminated food or water and is closely linked to poor sanitation. The disease often causes acute diarrhoea and can kill within hours, if untreated.

    Since the end of October, tens of thousands of people fleeing fighting with the M23 group have joined those already settled for months in sites for displaced people in Nyiragongo territory, a few kilometres north of Goma.

    Without proper sanitation and access to clean safe water, cases could rise.

    In October this year, the World Health Organization suspended the two-dose cholera vaccine in favour of a single one, due to a supply shortage. This type of protection is however limited.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Images of flood caused havoc in DR Congo’s capital

    Heavy rainfall on Monday night led to floods in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa, that destroyed many homes and cut off one of the main roads to the the city.

    The damage left a third of the city with no water and electricity, according to authorities. Most of the dead were in hillside areas which suffered landslides

    Kinshasa has about 15 million inhabitants and is one of the most densely populated capitals in Africa.

    Prime Minister Sama Lukonde visited the affected neighbourhoods on Tuesday together with the city’s Governor Gentiny Ngobila.

    The governor said the provincial government will pay all the funeral expenses for the deceased.

    A car is seen stuck after heavy rains caused floods and landslides, on the outskirts of KinshasaA car is seen stuck after heavy rains caused floods and landslides, on the outskirts of KinshasaA car is seen stuck after heavy rains caused floods and landslides, on the outskirts of KinshasaA car is seen stuck after heavy rains caused floods and landslides, on the outskirts of Kinshasa

  • DR Congo M23 rebels: Church resort to street protests

    Thousands of people have demonstrated across the Democratic Republic of  Congo against the M23 rebel group, one of dozens fighting in the country’s east.

    The Catholic Church encouraged people to take to the streets, and much of the rage was directed at Rwanda, which DR Congo accuses of supporting the M23 rebels, and something that Kigali denies.

    People marched for peace after leaving Sunday services across the country.

    The Catholic Church wields enormous power in the country. Some church leaders are urging Western countries to take a tougher stance against Rwanda’s government for its support for the M23 rebels.

    Banners at protests in Kinshasa opposed the balkanisation of DR Congo and spoke of the hypocrisy of the international community.

    Regional talks have been taking place to try to stop the violence.

    Several East African countries are sending in troops but in the past the involvement of multiple armies has only complicated the conflict in the mineral-rich eastern DR Congo.

  • We won’t retreat, Congolese rebels say

    The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have said they will not retreat from their positions after regional leaders set a 18:00 Friday local time deadline for them to cease fire and retreat or face a regional force.

    Canisius Munyarugerero has told the BBC Great Lakes that the group is ignoring Wednesday’s decisions in the Angolan capital, Luanda, because “we were not invited to that meeting” to discuss the DR Congo conflict.

    Leaders from DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and the former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta – who’s a mediator to the conflict – had convened in Luanda in the meeting hosted by the Angolan president.

    “We M23 are not Burundians, we are not Rwandans, we are not Kenyans, not even Angolans. We are Congolese, and we are home, they are telling us to withdraw to where?” Mr Munyarugerero posed.

    The M23 now occupies a big area in North Kivu province and is threatening to capture Goma, the main city in eastern Congo.

    Before the war began afresh, they held positions at Sabinyo Volcano near the border with Rwanda.

    The Luanda meeting decided that if M23 did not abide by the deadline, regional forces being deployed to the eastern DR Congo would enforce it.

    Asked if they were ready to face a regional force, Mr Munyarugerero said: “Just know that we won’t retreat.”

    Source: BBC

  • DRC: Two die from lightning strikes at displaced persons camp

    Two people died from lightning strikes on Monday in a displaced persons camp in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

    More than 260,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to recent fighting between government forces and M23 rebels, according to assessments by the United Nations.

    The camp Kanyaruchinya, just north of Goma city, is only 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the frontlines of the fighting. One of the victims was a pregnant woman who had stepped out from her tent when she was struck. Another was a young child.

    The bodies of the victims have been brought to the provincial morgue in Goma to await the funeral.

    Grieving families of the victims asked for help from the government.

    “May the government help us with assistance because we are suffering a lot, the displaced are suffering, we have no food, and the suffering is getting worse every day,” said Byamungu Sigrezambo, father of one of the victims.

    Other displaced people living in this site remain worried about tough living conditions.

    The fresh fighting between the M23 rebels and the Congolese army and its allies in the territory of Rutshuru, has forced tens of thousands to take refuge in informal sites in Kanyaruchinya and in the surrounding localities.

    Aid workers said an urgent international response is needed and are looking for 50-million US dollars to fund its work here for the next six months.

     

    Source: Africa News

  • Uganda: 1,000 troops to be sent to regional force against M23,DRC

    Uganda will be the third country to send troops to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, following contingents from Kenya and Burundi.

    Uganda’s army announced on Monday that it will send 1,000 troops to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the end of the month to join a regional force tasked with ending decades of instability.

    The seven East African Community (EAC) countries, which DRC joined this year, agreed in April to form a force to combat militia groups in the country’s east.

    Uganda will be the third country to deploy troops, following contingents from Kenya and Burundi, according to Uganda’s army spokesman Felix Kulayigye.

    In September, Uganda paid Congo $65m, the first installment of reparations amounting to $325m for losses caused by Ugandan troops occupying Congolese territory in the 1990s.

    Eastern DRC already hosts hundreds of Ugandan troops, deployed nearly a year ago under a separate bilateral arrangement to help hunt down the ISIL-allied group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

    Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nations’ largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 armed groups continue to operate across large swathes of eastern Congo, including M23 rebels, which Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of supporting. Kigali denies the claims.

    The UN says it found evidence contrary to Kigali’s claims.

    The M23 have staged a major offensive this year, seizing territory, forcing thousands of people from their homes, and sparking a diplomatic row between Congo and Rwanda.

    On Friday, the EAC said Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame had agreed on the need for M23 rebels to cease fire and withdraw from captured territory.

  • DR Congo rebel forces kill two, kidnap 10 others

    Two people have been killed and 10 others kidnapped by members of the Allied Democratic Forces in Kabasha area near the city of Beni in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

    This comes in the wake of aerial assaults by Congolese forces targeting militia groups in Runyoni, Musangati, Chanzu and Bunagana in the troubled east.

    There are reports that several villages seized by rebels in Rutshuru have been cut off leaving residents without access to food and emergency services.

    More than 90,000 people have been displaced by renewed fighting in the region in the past few months, according to aid agencies.

    The DR Congo government has accused neighbouring Rwanda of backing the M23 group by providing them with logistical and financial support. Rwanda has repeatedly denied those allegations.

    President Félix Tshisekedi last week urged the youth to form vigilance groups and join the army to protect the country against external aggression by armed groups.

    Source:

  • AU urges immediate ceasefire amid DR Congo fighting

    The African Union has called for an immediate cessation of fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo where rebels have been advancing towards a provincial capital in the east of the country.

    DR Congo has expelled the Rwandan ambassador, accusing Kigali of supporting the M23 rebels who are now threatening the city of Goma.

    It follows the take-over by the rebels of a key transit town in the east of the country.

    Rwanda has repeatedly denied the allegation that it supports the rebels.

    The town of Kiwandja fell to rebel hands on Saturday, potentially cutting off the regional capital, Goma, from the north of mineral-rich North Kivu province.

    The AU has urged all the parties to engage in a constructive dialogue and is calling them to peace talks in Kenya next month.

    A UN peacekeeping force in the region has placed its troops on high alert.

  • Envoy accuses Rwanda of taking DR Congo’s gorillas

    The Democratic Republic of Congo’s representative at the UN, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, has accused Rwanda, without presenting facts, of taking gorillas from Congolese forests to Rwanda.

    Mr Nzongola-Ntajala said this during the 11th emergency UN General Assembly session to debate and vote on a resolution on Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

    He accused Rwanda of occupying Congo “in 1998 to 2003” plundering gold and coltan “and many other resources”.

    “They even take chimpanzees and gorillas from the Congolese forests taking them to Rwanda, all of this is well known,” Mr Nzongola-Ntajala added.

    Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo share the massive volcanoes between their borders that are home to rare mountain gorillas.

    Rwandan envoy Robert Kayinamura appeared to laugh at Mr Nzongola-Ntajala’s statement.

    “These allegations of; every time there is no flowing water it is Rwanda, there’s no electricity it is Rwanda, there’s no roads it is Rwanda…We need to move beyond that kind of mentality.” Mr Kayinamura said.

    Videos of the exchange have been shared widely.

    In September during a UN general assembly, DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi accused Rwanda “of direct aggression”, before his counterpart Paul Kagame replied that “blame game doesn’t solve the problems”.

    Rwanda has continuously denied allegations of supporting M23 rebels who now control the border city of Bunagana and areas around it in DR Congo’s North Kivu province.

    Source: BBC

  • Belgian filmmaker Thierry Michel accused of plagiarism by DRC

    Belgian filmmaker, Thierry Michel is being sued by in the Democratic Republic of Congo by documentary making partnership, the Balufu brothers.

    Gilbert Balufu Mbaye and Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda accuse Michel of plagiarising their 2015 film “The Silence of Forgotten Crimes.”

    It follows the release of Michel’s 2021 film, “Empire of Silence.”

    “What he has done is plagiarism,” said Gilbert Balufu. “Plagiarism is making the same thing as someone else. He used the same narrative structure, as well as the technical cutting and even the synopsis.”

    Michel’s “The Empire of Silence” tells the story of war crimes in DRC over two decades.

    In the film he suggest war criminals are more likely to be rewarded than convicted and he calls for an end to impunity.

    But the Balufu brother have claimed there could be as many as 80 elements of comparison with their film.

    “We asked for the comparison of the two films,” said Balufu. “From the comparison we can remove the doubt, we can see who is right and who is wrong but Thierry Michel does not want to put the film at the disposal of justice, so it is already an admission of guilt.”

    Michel denies the accusations and says it is an attack on freedom.

    “The objective is to ban the film, to seize it and to sentence me and the producer to 1 to 5 years in prison,” he says.

    “Of course this film is disturbing, there are many people that this film disturbs who are in power in positions that they have acquired through crimes … predation”

    Independent analysis carried out at the request of the international society of authors, SCAM shows there are only four images common to both films but the Belgian filmmaker faces up to five years in prison in the DRC if found guilty.

  • Ugandan landslides caused by heavy rains kills at least 16

    According to tweets from the Uganda Red Cross, a landslide early on Wednesday triggered by heavy rains in the Kasese district on Tuesday night killed at least 16 persons in western Uganda.

    Most of the recovered bodies were women and children, the red cross said. Six people were also injured and are receiving treatment at a local hospital, the red cross spokesperson Irene Nakasiita tweeted.
    Emergency workers have been shoveling through the mud in search of survivors. Kasese district, where the disaster occurred, is prone to landslides, especially during the rainy season, because it sits in the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains that straddle the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    After a prolonged drought, heavy rains have fallen on much of Uganda since late July, causing deaths and flooding, and the destruction of crops, homes, and infrastructure.
    In July, flooding caused by heavy rains killed at least 24 people in the Mbale district in eastern Uganda.
    The country’s weather agency had warned it would be hit by unusually strong and destructive rains in the August-December season and advised people living in mountainous areas to be vigilant or evacuate to safer areas
    Many parts of Uganda are prone to flooding after heavy rains, but the whole country is vulnerable to natural disasters.
    More than 300,000 people have been affected by floods and landslides in Uganda’s eastern and western regions, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. An estimated 65,000 people have been displaced, the report added.

  • Joy for Ghanaian football fans as Qatar to allow beer sales at World Cup games 3 hours before kickoff

    A Ghanian supporter cheers on January 20, 2013 before the start of a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations football match between Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

    Qatar will permit ticketed fans to buy alcoholic beer at World Cup soccer matches starting three hours before kickoff and for one hour after the final whistle, but not during the match, a source with knowledge of plans for the tournament said.

    Budweiser, a major World Cup sponsor with exclusive rights to sell beer at the tournament, will serve beer within the ticketed perimeter surrounding each stadium, but not in the stadium stands or concourse, the source said.

    This year’s World Cup is the first to be held in a Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, presenting unique challenges for organizers of an event sponsored by a major beer brand and often associated with beer-drinking fans.

    “Beer will be available when gates open, which is three hours before kick-off. Whoever wants to have a beer will be able to. And then when they leave the stadium as well for one hour after the final whistle,” the source said.

    Additionally, Budweiser will be permitted to serve beer in part of the main FIFA fan zone in central Doha from 6:30 pm to 1:00 am every day of the 29-day tournament, which kicks off on November 20, the source said.

    At previous World Cup tournaments, beer was served in fan zones all day long.

    The decision about where and when the beer will be sold to fans is now finalized, but the price fans will be charged for a beer is still under discussion, the source said.

    “We are working closely with FIFA, which is managing the relationship with the Qatari authorities, to ensure our activations for the tournament are executed respectfully and in compliance with local rules and regulations,” a spokesperson for Budweiser brewer AB InBev said in an emailed statement.

    Qatar’s World Cup organizers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, did not respond to requests for comment about the World Cup controls on alcohol. Qatar’s government media office directed requests to the Supreme Committee.

    There are four matches scheduled on most days of the tournament’s group stage, with the earliest match kicking off at 1 p.m.

    It was not immediately clear how Qatar will handle beer sales ahead of the 1 p.m. Wales and Iran game on Friday, November 25, when most Muslims in Qatar will be gathering at mosques for the weekly congregational prayer.

    Qatar currently requires most shops and restaurants in the country to close during Friday prayers.

    Questions have swirled around the role alcohol would play at this year’s World Cup since Qatar won hosting rights in 2010. While not a “dry” state like neighboring Saudi Arabia, consuming alcohol in public places is illegal in Qatar.

    Visitors cannot bring alcohol into Qatar, even from an airport duty-free, and they cannot buy alcohol at the country’s only liquor store, on the outskirts of Doha. Only foreign residents with permits can shop there for home consumption.

    Visitors can drink at a few dozen licensed hotels and clubs, where a pint of beer can cost $18.

    Budweiser will sell its non-alcoholic beer, Budweiser Zero, in stadium concourses and stands during games and at other fan sites, the source said.

    “We always respect the local customs and culture in the markets in which we operate or host events,” a spokesperson for AB InBev told Reuters in an emailed statement.

    “Our promotion and activation of Budweiser Zero during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar will target the international guests coming to enjoy and celebrate football at the fan sites.”