Tag: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Two UN peacekeepers among dozens killed by Islamist militants in eastern DRC

October 16, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Kivu

Dozens of people have lost their lives in recent days in separate attacks attributed to the radical Islamic group Muslim Defense International (MDI), formerly known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), in the volatile region of North Kivu in eastern DRC. According to local sources, 11 people were killed when a convoy . . . Read More

Congolese military ‘culpable’ in ADF’s North Kivu massacres

September 20, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Kivu, UN

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the situation in the eastern province of North Kivu, which shares borders with Uganda and Rwanda, is still volatile and a source great concern. Eight members of a local church were massacred on 9 September in the latest in a series of attacks. . . . Read More

Three killed, three kidnapped as ADF Islamists strike again in eastern DRC

September 4, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Kivu, UN

Three people were hacked to death with machetes while three others were kidnapped in a raid carried out by armed men on Saturday, 2 September, in Lahe-Malolu/Vemba village, situated 12km from Beni, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s volatile eastern region of North Kivu. Speaking to the UN-based Radio . . . Read More

DRC: grandmother forced to live in classroom after husband and friends murdered

August 22, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eringeti, IDPs, North Kivu, Oicha

When violence struck her village in North Kivu again Marie lost her husband and her home, and now lives with other refugees in a small mud class room in a school. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Marie, a 73-year-old Congolese woman, had lived in a war zone for two decades when rebels attacked her village in North Kivu province again, killing her husband and causing her to flee with her family to find shelter in a school. She thinks it was probably a year ago when . . . Read More

Central African Republic: ‘early warning signs of genocide’ warns UN aid chief

August 8, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangassou, Bangui, Bocaranga, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Genocide, Seleka, UN, Zemio

The UN has warned of the risk of genocide in the Central African Republic (CAR), saying the situation there has deteriorated in recent months. “Violence is intensifying, risking a repeat of the devastating destructive crisis that gripped the country four years ago… The early warning signs of a genocide are . . . Read More

DRC clergy call for ‘unconditional’ release of kidnapped priests

July 26, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Kivu

Catholic church leaders from the diocese of Butembo-Béni, in the volatile province of North-Kivu, in north-eastern DRC, have called for the release of their fellow priests, kidnapped by unknown armed men ten days ago. Fr Pierre Akilimali and Fr Charles Kipasa were kidnapped by about ten armed men in camouflage, . . . Read More

Two priests kidnapped in eastern DR Congo

July 18, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, North Kivu

Two Catholic priests were kidnapped by unknown armed men during the night of Sunday 16 July in their parish of Beni-Butembo, in the volatile province of North-Kivu, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fides reports. According to a note sent to Fides by CEPADHO (a local NGO . . . Read More

More Christian than Muslim refugees in US under Trump, but fewer overall

July 14, 2017 Chaldeans, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Donald Trump, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Migrants, Mike Pence, Refugees, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, USA, Yemen

Christians account for a steadily growing share of refugee arrivals in the US, Pew Research has found, although the net number of Christian arrivals may in fact be shrinking. In its review of US State Department data, published on 12 July, Pew noticed a gradual increase in the numbers of . . . Read More

Persecution ‘key driver of displacement’ says UNHCR, voicing concerns about returns

June 20, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Boko Haram, Converts, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Europe, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Middle Belt, Migrants, Nigeria, Refugees, South Sudan, Syria, Uganda, UN

More people are currently displaced through conflict and persecution than at any time since the Second World War. According to the Global Trends report, published by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2016. The report noted that the number of refugee returns . . . Read More

Are attacks on DRC churches religiously motivated?

April 10, 2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo ADF, Catholics, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Kabila, North Kivu

Amid the increasing political unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, senior Catholic leaders have reported increasing attacks on church properties, and the intimidation and even torture of clergy. Below, World Watch Monitor’s Africa Bureau Chief, Illia Djadi, gives his perspective on what’s driving the new wave of violence. What . . . Read More

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