Category: Congo

Death Toll Rises to 41 in DRC Attack by Islamist Rebels

11Jun

By adminNo Comments

Congo

Death Toll Rises to 41 in DRC Attack by Islamist Rebels

Masala, Democratic Republic of Congo – The death toll from a brutal attack by militants and Islamist rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to at least 41, the government reported on Monday. Red Cross volunteers and local youths have been tirelessly searching for bodies since the attack occurred on Friday in the eastern North Kivu province. The villages of Masala, Keme, and Mahini were targeted in the violent assault. Armed men wielding guns and machetes unleashed terror on the residents, causing widespread panic and chaos. Maurice Kambale Mulehera, a resident of Masala, recounted the horrors faced by fleeing villagers. "We learned that our fleeing family members were killed along the way. Here we have two bodies, a girl and a boy. Look how they were killed," he ...

Pope Francis Postpones Trip To DR Congo, South Sudan

11Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, News, Religion

Pope Francis Postpones Trip To DR Congo, South Sudan

Pope Francis has had to cancel an upcoming visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan because of a knee injury, the Vatican has announced. The head of the Catholic Church was scheduled to travel in July to the Congolese cities of Kinshasa and Goma, followed by a visit to South Sudan’s capital Juba. In Juba he was to lead a prayer vigil with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland Rev Iain Greenshields. Read Also: Pope’s July Visit To Africa To Go Ahead Despite Health Issues The Vatican said the visit would take place at "a later date to be determined". The decision had been made "at the request of [the Pope's] doctors, and in order not to jeopardise the results of the therapy tha...

World Bank To Fund $900 Million Development Projects In East Congo

10Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

African Development, Congo, Economy, News, Women Empowerment

World Bank To Fund $900 Million Development Projects In East Congo

The World Bank and Congo have signed two funding conventions of$900 million to boost female entrepreneurship and access to water and electricity in the east and west of the country, the Bank said in a statement. The projects will focus on Congo's central west Kasai province and eastern regions. Read Also: 20 Million Farmers In Africa To Benefit From $1.5 billion Emergency Food Facility "These operations supplement a portfolio of operations focused on reinforcing human capital and protecting the poorest households - including women - against socio-economic hazards," World Bank Congo Director said in a statement dated Tuesday but seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The deal was clinched at the end of a two-day visit to Congo by the World Bank's strategy and operations director for...

Suspected Islamists Kill At Least 18 In East Congo Attack

6Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, Congo, News, Rwanda, Security, Terrorism, Uganda

Suspected Islamists Kill At Least 18 In East Congo Attack

Suspected Islamists killed at least 18 people in a village raid in eastern Congo on Sunday night, local sources said, while fighting resumed with the M23 rebel group in a neighbouring province. Fighters believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed residents and burned down houses in the village of Otomabere, in Irumu territory, Ituri province, said a witness, a local chief and a local human rights group. Congolese army spokesman Jules Ngongo confirmed the ADF attack without giving a death toll, and said Congolese forces were in pursuit of the assailants. The ADF is a Ugandan militia that moved to eastern Congo in the 1990s. The group carries out frequent attacks and killed more than 1,300 people between January 2021 and January 2022, according to a United ...

African States Report 1,400 Monkeypox Cases – WHO

1Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, Liberia, News, Nigeria, Sierra Leone

African States Report 1,400 Monkeypox Cases – WHO

Seven African countries have cumulatively reported about 1,400 monkeypox cases this year up to mid-May, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. These include 1,392 suspected and 44 confirmed cases. The cases were reported in Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Congo-Brazzaville and Sierra Leone. The number of cases this year is slightly fewer than half of cases reported in last year. The WHO notes that while the virus has not spread to new African countries where it is not common, it has been expanding its geographic reach in recent years. Read Also: Ethiopia’s Dr Tedros Re-elected As WHO Head It cites Nigeria where the virus has spread from the south, where it was mainly reported until 2019, to central, easte...

Pope’s July Visit To Africa To Go Ahead Despite Health Issues

29May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, News, Religion, Security, Violence

Pope’s July Visit To Africa To Go Ahead Despite Health Issues

Pope Francis is set to make a gruelling trip to two African countries in July despite knee problems that have forced him to use a cane and wheelchair in recent weeks. The Vatican issued a full programme on Saturday for the July 2-7 trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. There had been speculation the pope's visit to Africa might be postponed, as was a trip to Lebanon scheduled for June. The 85-year-old pope has been undergoing treatment for knee pain, believed to be caused by a torn ligament. The trip's pace suggests the Vatican expects the pope's condition to improve in the next month, although officials say privately that he likely will use a wheelchair at least some of the time. The visit includes thousands of miles of travel, five flights and at least a...

Thousands Abandon Their Homes Amid DR Congo Battles

28May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, Congo, News, Rwanda, Safety, Security, Terrorism

Thousands Abandon Their Homes Amid DR Congo Battles

More than 37,000 people have been forced from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last four days of fighting, according to aid agencies. Local media report that the national army has retaken some areas that had been seized by the M23 rebels in recent days. But the main road between Rutshuru and the North Kivu regional capital, Goma, remains blocked by the M23. The DR Congo government has again accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels, which the government in Kigali denies. Earlier this week, Rwanda called for a regional investigation into how some artillery fire crossed into its territory, injuring some Rwandans. Read Also: Over 50 Villages Vacated Due to Bandits’ Attacks in Niger – Gov Bello On Wednesday, a police chief in Goma asked locals to ta...

Christian Group In DR Congo Marks Christmas Day

25May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Celebration, Congo, News, Religion

Christian Group In DR Congo Marks Christmas Day

A Christian group mainly based in the Democratic Republic of Congo is on Wednesday marking Christmas Day to commemorate the birth of Jesus. The Church of Jesus Christ on Earth by His Special Envoy Simon Kimbangu has about 20 million followers in the country, but also enjoys a following in neighbouring Angola. It's also called Kimbanguist Church after its founder Simon Kimbangu. The church was last year suspended from the World Council of Churches for theological reasons. Read Also: Christmas Message: Our Hearts Heavy With Suffering – Kaigama Since 2016, the church has been celebrating Christmas Day on 25 May according to its understanding of the bible. Mr Kimbangu was sentenced to death in 1921 for sedition and died after serving about 30 years in jail. He died in...

DR Congo Policeman Sentenced To Death For Murder

13May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, Crime, Judiciary, Justice, News

DR Congo Policeman Sentenced To Death For Murder

A Congolese military court has sentenced a high-ranking policeman to death for his role in the 2010 murder of human rights activist Floribert Chebeya, which caused national outrage. Commissioner of police Christian Ngoy Kenga Kenga was found guilty of murder, desertion and misappropriation of weapons and ammunition. Mr Chebeya's body was found bound and gagged in his car in Kinshasa. There is a moratorium on capital punishments in DR Congo. However, the death penalty has not been abolished and military courts continue to hand down such sentences. Another policeman, Jacques Migabo, was also sentenced to 12 years during the trial. He admitted to having strangled Mr Chebeya and his driver, Fidèle Bazana. Police commissioner Paul Mwilambwe, who had been a key witness ...

19Apr

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, Congo, News, Security, Violence

Drunk Soldiers Kill 15 in DR Congo

Two soldiers have shot dead 15 people in separate attacks in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the victims were almost all civilians. This comes after six people were wounded when soldiers threw a grenade into a crowd whilst trying to carry out an arrest. An official in South Kivu province said a drunk soldier on a boat on Lake Tanganyika killed eight passengers including children before he was arrested. Read also: Seven Die as Train Derails in DR Congo On Sunday another soldier shot dead a colonel, his bodyguard and five civilians in Ituri province. The killer, also said to have been drunk, was shot dead by a colleague as he fled. For more than two decades people across eastern DR Congo have endured frequent attacks by dozens of armed groups. President F...