30 dead, five critically injured in DR Congo massacre

[jchima]

An overnight attack by suspected Ugandan rebels in the area of Beni in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has left at least 30 people dead, authorities have said.



The attack, which left five more people in a critical condition, took place overnight into Sunday in the village of Oicha in North Kivu province.
More than 200 people have been killed in Beni and the surrounding area in a series of massacres that have been blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces and National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU).
Source: 30 dead five critically injured in DR Congo massacre - eReporter

 

[waltky]

President wants to extend his rule...

Protests in Congo Against Extending President's Rule
October 20, 2015 - Security forces opened fire in the Republic of Congo Tuesday as they clashed with protesters who oppose a bid by President Denis Sassou N'guesso to extend his rule.

The French news agency reports that at least six people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after confrontations in the capital, Brazzaville. On Sunday, Congo will vote on proposed constitutional reforms that would abolish a two-term limit for presidents and an age limit of 70 for presidential candidates. Tsomambet Anaclet, a spokesman for opponents of the referendum, told VOA that Tuesday's clashes began when police dispersed demonstrators as they tried to assemble. Witnesses say police fired tear gas in addition to live rounds.

Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso​

Phone and internet services were reported to be out in much of the city. Sassou N'guesso, who has ruled Congo for all but five of the last 36 years, announced plans for the referendum last month. Without the changes, the president would have to leave office at the end of his current term next year. Sassou N'guesso first seized power in a 1979 coup, then lost it in a 1992 election. He retook power in 1997 in a bloody civil war, and won elections in 2002 and 2009 in votes that were boycotted by most of the opposition.

Sassou N'guesso is one of several African leaders who have sparked controversy by seeking constitutional changes to extend their time in office. In Burkina Faso, longtime president Blaise Compaore was ousted by a popular uprising last year after he tried to abolish term limits. In Burundi, President Pierre Nkurunziza sparked weeks of violent protests when he announced he would seek a third term in April. He was re-elected in July in a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Bullets, Tear Gas in Brazzaville Ahead of Vote on Term Limits

 

[waltky]

No. Korea sendin' arms to Congo...

North Korea sent arms and military trainers to Congo, U.N. report says
May 13, 2016 - North Korea-made firearms were used during peacekeeping operations, according to the report.

North Korea sent firearms and 30 military instructors to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to a U.N. report. The United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee Concerning Democratic Republic of Congo told the media those were some of the findings from a panel of experts, Kyodo News reported.

Experts said the Congolese troops were supplied with North Korean-made pistols and other weapons, and that the Congolese soldiers carried the firearms with them during U.N. peacekeeping operations. Pyongyang also supplied the central African country's armed forces with personnel, the Sankei Shimbun reported Friday.

North Korean military instructors, 30 in total, were employed to train special forces in the Congo and instruct the Congolese president's bodyguards. North Korea is prohibited from exporting weapons under Security Council sanctions resolutions. Congo, in turn, is obligated to notify the U.N. if it imports weapons from Pyongyang. The African state is technically in violation of U.N. sanctions resolutions.

The report also contained details of how Congolese authorities were able to procure North Korea-made guns, beginning in the first half of 2014, at the chief seaport of Matadi. North Korea first exported arms to the Congo in December 2009, U.N. records show. In January of that year, Congolese officers investigated a North Korea cargo ship at the port, where they stumbled upon weapons and ammunition.

North Korea sent arms and military trainers to Congo, U.N. report says

 

[waltky]

40 police officers beheaded in the Congo...

DR Congo unrest: Why are police in Kasai being decapitated?
Mon, 27 Mar 2017 - Up to 400 people have reportedly been killed in the central DR Congo province of Kasai - what is going on?

Militia fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo have decapitated about 40 police officers in an ambush in the central province of Kasai, local officials say. The attack on a police convoy last Friday is thought to be one of the deadliest single episodes of violence in Kasai since unrest broke out in August 2016. Reports say up to 400 people have been killed in total. Six policemen who spoke the local Tshiluba language were freed in Friday's incident, but the rest were killed, Kasai Assembly President Francois Kalamba said. The Kamwina Nsapu group was believed to be behind the attack. It has been fighting DR Congo forces since its leader was killed by the security forces last year.

Anti-government protests in the capital have received extensive media coverage​

The attack came days after the UN Human Rights Council said 10 mass graves had been found in Kasai, with limbs sticking out of the soil at some of the sites. At least 99 people, including 18 children, were killed between 1 January and 23 February this year, the UN body said after a visit to the area by a team of investigators. In one attack on 10 February, government troops killed at least 40 alleged militiamen and buried them in two mass graves that its investigators had seen, the UN body added in a report. The militia is also alleged to have committed atrocities, including killing about 30 people, among them children, following an incursion into the neighbouring Lomami region on 9 March. In another instance, the militia allegedly "decapitated two policemen and took away their heads", the UN report said.

What is the fighting about?

Followers of Kamwina Nsapu, a traditional chief whose real name was Jean-Pierre Pandi, wanted his chiefdom to be officially recognised by the authorities. There were communal clashes after Kamwina Nsapu called for a popular uprising in June 2016 with the aim of removing all state institutions and security forces from the region. He was killed two months later when the police raided his house. His followers vowed to avenge his killing. They also demanded the exhumation of the late leader's body, saying he had not been buried in accordance with traditional rites.

The conflict has since escalated, tapping into long-held grievances over marginalisation in this opposition bastion blighted by poor infrastructure. The Kamwina Nsapu fighters - largely made up of child soldiers - have targeted state institutions, looting and burning local and national government offices. However, the UN has condemned the army for using disproportionate force against fighters equipped with traditional weapons such as machetes, homemade rifles or even just sticks.

Why is it so serious?