Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked soon before President Joseph Kabila’s mandate expires, three internet providers said Thursday. Congo’s telecoms regulator issued an order, seen by AFP, demanding that providers cut access …
Read More »Eleven-nation Central African talks back Kabila’s DRC deal
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Eleven countries, meeting Wednesday on security in central Africa, urged the Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition to back a deal that could keep its president in office far beyond his official mandate. Leaders or their representatives from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) …
Read More »Nande, Hutu attacks leave 34 civilians dead in DR Congo
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 »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 »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 …
Read More »How much is child soldier’s lost youth worth? ICC asks
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | “How do you calculate a lost childhood?” That was the question Tuesday before war crimes judges trying to set the amount of landmark reparations to be paid to former Congolese child soldiers. After years of hearings, trials and appeals before the International Criminal Court …
Read More »At least 10 dead as army, Ugandan rebels clash in DR Congo
Goma, DR Congo | AFP | At least 10 people were killed Sunday night in clashes between the army and suspected Ugandan rebels in east DR Congo, activists said, in an area that has suffered a string of massacres since 2014. “Suspected ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) attacked Beni from the …
Read More »UN warns DRC, ‘The writing is on the wall’
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The UN rights chief on Thursday said DR Congo had used “excessive force” during deadly clashes with demonstrators in the capital and called on Kinshasa to reach out to the opposition to avert a “large-scale crisis” “The authorities need to pull back from …
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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