Tribal militia forces have kidnapped two Roman Catholic priests in the troubled North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said Monday. Kidnappings are frequent in this eastern part of the DRC, related to communal conflict between the Nande and Hunde tribes on one hand and ethnic Hutus on the other. The two … Read more
The governor of Congo’s restive eastern province of Nord-Kivu urged the army Wednesday to beef up operations against a spate of militia attacks there, saying all-out war may be imminent. “I am alerting in particular the army chief of staff to refocus its strategy after these new incursions. There is a looming threat of a … Read more
At least seven militants were killed Thursday in clashes with troops involving heavy weapons in a city in Democratic Republic of Congo’s restive east, police said. The fighting erupted in the eastern suburbs of Beni, a city in North-Kivu province, with residents hearing gunshots and heavy weapons fire. A spokesman for the country’s armed forces … Read more
Clashes erupted early on Thursday in Beni, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with residents reporting the sound of gunshots and heavy weapons fire. Exchanges of fire could be heard in the eastern part of the city, with an army spokesman confirming a gun battle had broken out between troops and a new … Read more
Eleven people were killed and more than 900 inmates escaped Sunday after unidentified assailants attacked a jail in DR Congo’s restive east, an official said. “The Kangwayi prison in Beni was attacked at 3:30 pm (1330 GMT) by assailants whose identity is not yet known,” Julien Paluku, governor of North Kivu province, told reporters. “In … Read more
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday urged the release of two of its staff kidnapped after armed men attacked their convoy in the troubled eastern DR Congo. The ICRC said the workers were abducted on Wednesday morning while on a humanitarian mission between Kirumba and Beni in North Kivu province. “We are … Read more
The jagged, ice-capped Rwenzori Mountains stab at the sky above Mpondwe, a bustling border town in western Uganda. Trucks move slowly and one at a time across a rickety metal bridge above the swirling, muddy Lhubiriha River and into the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo where, traders say, profits can be found but fear lurks. … Read more
Countries in Africa’s Great Lakes region launched an intelligence nerve centre in Uganda Saturday to better coordinate the fight against a rebel group responsible for massacres in neighbouring DR Congo. A string of bloody killings in which civilians have mostly been hacked to death around the town of Beni in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo … Read more
At least 22 civilians were killed in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province over the weekend, an official said, blaming the attacks on an armed group led by Ugandan rebels. The killings happened in Eringeti, a town 55km north of the regional hub Beni, a city plagued by a wave of deadly attacks, according … Read more