Seven soldiers and 15 members of a notorious armed Islamist group have died in three days of clashes in northeastern DR Congo, the army said Tuesday. The armed forces launched an offensive on Saturday against positions held by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Tchabi, in Ituri province, the region’s military governor, Lieutenant-General Johnny Luboya, […]
DRCONGO
Two Chinese face prosecution in DR Congo over illegal miners incident
Two Chinese nationals face military prosecution for ordering two Congolese soldiers to inflict “degrading and humiliating treatment” on illegal Congolese miners in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the army said on Saturday. “Two Chinese used two soldiers of the FARDC (DR Congo’s armed forces) to beat up and mistreat Congolese artisanal miners in the mine,” […]
DRCongo unveils IMF credit worth $1.5 bn
The Democratic Republic of Congo has agreed with the IMF on $1.5 billion in credits in exchange for spending commitments and improved transparency in its mining sector, officials said Friday. The three-year deal will start with a loan of $217 million that will be followed by others if conditions are met, the International Monetary Fund’s […]
Court releases former DR Congo PM from brief house arrest
DR Congo’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday reversed its decision to place former prime minister Augustin Matata Ponyo under house arrest, his lawyer said. The former prime minister “is no longer under house arrest… He returned to his home without being accompanied by police,” the lawyer Laurent Onyemba told AFP. The court’s ruling came just the […]
DR Congo reports drop in virus cases but jab shortage
Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Wednesday they had run out of AstraZeneca vaccines, but also reported the numbers of new infections and deaths from Covid-19 were beginning to drop. Health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani told AFP that there were no more doses of the AstraZeneca jab in the country since three shipments […]
Curfew declared in Beni, DR Congo, after third bomb in two days
The mayor of the eastern DR Congo city of Beni declared a curfew on Sunday after three weekend bomb attacks. Beni is in the North Kivu province, which President Felix Tshisekedi placed, along with neighbouring Ituri province, under a “state of siege” on May 6 in a bid to clamp down on militia violence in […]
DR Congo activists hail Israeli tycoon’s loss of oil contracts
Anti-corruption campaigners on Wednesday hailed the loss of two oil exploration contracts awarded in Democratic Republic of Congo to Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler over a decade ago, following an announcement by the authorities. In a letter to Gertler dated June 16 and authenticated by AFP, the hydrocarbons ministry stated its intention to terminate the production-sharing […]
DR Congo court cuts jail term for ex-presidential aide
A former presidential aide in DR Congo who had been sentenced to 20 years in a high-profile corruption case has had his term reduced by seven years on appeal, his lawyer said. Vital Kamerhe, 62, who was also a former speaker of the National Assembly, was sentenced last June for embezzling nearly $50 million (44 […]
DR Congo announces ‘progressive return’ to volcano city
The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday announced the “progressive return” of residents who fled the city of Goma amid fears of a catastrophic eruption by the nearby volcano Nyiragongo. Around two-thirds of Goma’s 600,000 population left after an evacuation order was issued last month, although thousands have since streamed back, defying official warnings. “Today, […]