Congo and several UN agencies have launched a joint appeal for $23.7 million (20.6 million euros) to help 138,000 people hit by fighting and insecurity in the southern region of Pool. “The most pressing humanitarian needs are related to food security, nutrition, living conditions and access to basic health services,” said OCHA, the UN agency … Read more
Voters went to the polls in legislative elections in the oil-rich Republic of Congo on Sunday, the first since a violence-marred presidential poll last year which returned Denis Sassou Nguesso to power. The first round of polling to elect National Assembly members as well as local councils is taking place with the opposition calling foul, … Read more
Congo voters go to the polls Sunday in legislative elections in the oil-rich African country, the first since violence-marred presidential polls last year which returned Denis Sassou Nguesso to power. While no fresh violence is expected opposition parties have cried foul, as over 2 million voters are expected to cast their ballots in the first … Read more
The UN on Monday criticised a decision by a Congolese military tribunal not to prosecute seven Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers for crimes against humanity. “We regret” the tribunal’s decision, Jose Maria Aranaz, director of the United Nations joint human rights office (UNJHRO) and representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the DRC, … Read more
“I haven’t once spoken my mother tongue Kilokele in the 62 years I’ve lived in Kinshasa. None of my nine children speak it,” says Charles Tongohala. Tongohala’s native tongue is one of 450 spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a sprawling nation of 71 million people whose lingos — almost all of them spoken, … Read more
Twenty people died in ethnic clashes last week in the troubled central Kasai region of Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said Wednesday. The UN’s DR Congo mission, MONUSCO, said in a statement that the clashes took place on April 19 east of the Kasai capital, Tshikapa, between members of the Lulua-Luba and Chowe-Pende … Read more
The Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended military cooperation with former colonial power Belgium after Brussels criticised President Joseph Kabila’s choice of prime minister, sources said Friday. “The decision to suspend military cooperation with Belgium has taken effect. This measure was pending since (Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders) came out and attacked the Congolese authorities,” … Read more
Pope Francis on Sunday called for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, urging an end to the bloodshed in the troubled Kasai region. “News continues to arrive of bloody clashes in Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo — fighting which drags in victims and displaced persons,” the pontiff told some 20,000 faithful at … Read more
Militia fighters in DR Congo have decapitated about 40 police officers in an ambush in the central province of Kasai, local officials say. Six policemen who spoke the local Tshiluba were freed, but the rest were killed, Kasai Assembly President Francois Kalamba said. The unrest in Kasai began last August, when security forces killed the … Read more
Militia fighters in DR Congo have decapitated about 40 police officers in an ambush in the central province of Kasai, local officials say. Six policemen who spoke the local Tshiluba were freed, but the rest were killed, Kasai Assembly President Francois Kalamba said. The unrest in Kasai began last August, when security forces killed the … Read more
Security forces in Congo Republic have killed around 15 rebel fighters during a military operation in the central African oil producer’s restive Pool region, authorities said. Police claimed that the the Ninjas rebels had been trained in explosives and were planning to attack the country’s main railway line between Pool and the capital, Brazzaville. Police … Read more
Rising unrest in central Democratic Republic of Congo threatens to derail voter registration ahead of a high-stakes election, the Catholic Church and the electoral commission said Tuesday. Commission president Corneille Nangaa meanwhile hit out at recent attacks in the central region of Kasai, where four offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) have been … Read more
The United Nations announced aid worth $5 million (4.7 million euros) on Saturday to help people affected by the humanitarian crisis in the violence-wracked Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The remote, central region has been plagued by violence since mid-August when government forces killed a tribal chief and militia leader, Kamwina Nsapu, … Read more
The Democratic Republic of Congo said Wednesday it was investigating “facts brought to the public’s attention” after a video purportedly showing government troops massacring civilians prompted outrage. The seven minutes of footage that emerged over the weekend shows a group of uniformed men opening fire, then walking among at least 20 bodies, apparently in the … Read more
In crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo, people in the capital increasingly turn to street hawkers to feed themselves and their families cheaply, but the makeshift option is often not a hygienic one. From civil servants and students, to construction workers and parents with their children, hungry Kinshasa residents depend on so-called malewas, or street food … Read more
DR Congo is experiencing an economic crisis, the World Bank (WB) has warned in its 4th report on the monitoring of the economic and financial situation of the country presented on Tuesday in Kinshasa. Among the main indicators of this crisis, the World Bank cites the revision of the rate of growth of the DRC … Read more
Oyem (Gabon) (AFP) – Stadiums may not be full at the Africa Cup of Nations but the supporters who do turn out create a noisy and colourful atmosphere — and in the case of DR Congo the government is giving a helping hand. The DRC’s capital Kinshasa is the home of “Sape”, a French acronym … Read more
Congo has seen series of violent clashes in recent times Clashes between police and a militia led by a Christian pastor in northwestern Congo’s Mongala province killed 15 militiamen and three policemen, the former deputy commissioner of Mongala said on Wednesday. Police battled the militia loyal to the pastor from the Kimbanguist church, an offshoot … Read more
Namibia’s Cabinet has resolved to engage Congo-Brazzaville government to honor commitments regarding a training college where the two countries are partners. Some Namibian students are studying at the Loudima Institute for Technical and Vocational Training (LITVT) in the Congo-Brazzaville. The training center, built in 1985, was used by the Swapo Party members’ children during the … Read more