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Tag: Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • FACT FOCUS: With a truce in Israel, Trump now says he’s ended eight wars. His numbers are off

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    As Israel and Hamas traded hostages and prisoners on Monday, taking a first step toward peace, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, telling them he had ended his eighth war.

    “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm. The guns are silent. The sirens are still. And the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace,” Trump said.

    He then upped the number of wars he claims to have ended in his first eight months in office, saying, “Yesterday I was saying seven, but now I can say eight.”

    But Trump’s claim is exaggerated. Much work remains before an end to the war between Israel and Hamas can be declared. That’s also true in other countries where Trump claims to have ended wars.

    Here’s a closer look:

    Israel and Hamas

    While the ceasefire and hostage deal is a major achievement, it is still an early and delicate moment in the path to a permanent end to the war, let alone a two state solution.

    The first steps of the agreement Trump brokered included the release of hostages in Gaza, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, a surge of humanitarian aid and a partial pullback by Israeli forces from Gaza’s main cities.

    But major elements remain to be worked out.

    After his stop in Israel, Trump gathered with other world leaders in Egypt for a “ Summit of Peace ” to discuss the ceasefire plan. Trump acknowledged that leaders had taken the “first steps to peace” and urged leaders to build on the breakthrough. Trump and other leaders signed a document that he said would “spell out a lot of rules and regulations and lots of other things, and it’s very comprehensive,” though details were not immediately available.

    The next phase of talks is expected to address disarming Hamas, creating a post-war government for Gaza, reconstruction, and the extent of Israel’s withdrawal from the territory. Trump’s plan also stipulates that regional and international partners will work to develop a new Palestinian security force.

    At least some, if not all, of those elements need to be worked out, and negotiations over those issues could break down. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said on Monday that he and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, were “already working” on implementation issues.

    Israel and Iran

    Trump is credited with ending the 12-day war.

    In June, Israel launched attacks on the heart of Iran’s nuclear program and military leadership, saying it wanted to stop Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied it was trying to do that.

    Trump negotiated a ceasefire after directing American warplanes to strike Iran’s Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites.

    Evelyn Farkas, executive director of Arizona State University’s McCain Institute, said that Trump should get credit for ending the war.

    “There’s always a chance it could flare up again if Iran restarts its nuclear weapons program, but nonetheless, they were engaged in a hot war with one another,” she said. “And it didn’t have any real end in sight before President Trump got involved and gave them an ultimatum.”

    Lawrence Haas, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the American Foreign Policy Council who is an expert on Israel-Iran tensions, agreed the U.S. was instrumental in securing the ceasefire. But he characterized it as a “temporary respite” from the ongoing “day-to-day cold war” between the two countries that often involves flare-ups.

    Egypt and Ethiopia

    This could be described as tensions at best, and peace efforts, which do not directly involve the United States, have stalled.

    The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River has caused friction between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan since the power-generating project was announced more than a decade ago. In July, Ethiopia declared the project complete. It was inaugurated in September.

    Egypt and Sudan oppose the dam. Although the vast majority of the water that flows down the Nile originates in Ethiopia, Egyptian agriculture relies on the river almost entirely. Sudan fears flooding and wants to protect its own power-generating dams.

    During his first term, Trump tried to broker a deal between Ethiopia and Egypt. He could not get the countries to agree and suspended aid to Ethiopia over the dispute. In July, he posted on social media that he helped the “fight over the massive dam (and) there is peace at least for now.” But the disagreement persists, and negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have stalled.

    “It would be a gross overstatement to say that these countries are at war,” Haas said. “I mean, they’re just not.”

    India and Pakistan

    The April killing of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir pushed India and Pakistan closer to war than they had been in years, but a ceasefire was reached.

    Trump has claimed that the U.S. brokered the ceasefire, which he said came about in part because he offered trade concessions. Pakistan thanked Trump, recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize. India has denied Trump’s claims, saying there was no conversation between the U.S. and India on trade in regards to the ceasefire.

    Although India played down the Trump administration’s role in the ceasefire, Haas and Farkas believe the U.S. deserves some credit for helping stop the fighting.

    “I think that President Trump played a constructive role from all accounts, but it may not have been decisive. And again, I’m not sure whether you would define that as a full-blown war,” Farkas said.

    Serbia and Kosovo

    The White House lists the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo as one Trump resolved. But there has been no threat of a war between the two neighbors during Trump’s second term or any significant contribution from the Republican president this year to improve relations.

    Kosovo is a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Tensions have persisted since, but never to the point of war, mostly because NATO-led peacekeepers have been deployed in Kosovo, which has been recognized by more than 100 countries.

    During his first term, Trump negotiated a wide-ranging deal between the countries, but much of what was agreed on was never carried out.

    Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

    Trump has played a key role in peace efforts between the African neighbors, but he is hardly alone and the conflict is far from over.

    Eastern Congo, rich in minerals, has been battered by fighting with more than 100 armed groups. The most potent is the M23 rebel group. It is backed by neighboring Rwanda, which claims that it is protecting its territorial interests and that some of those who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide fled to Congo and are working with the Congolese army.

    The Trump administration’s efforts paid off in June, when the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers signed a peace deal at the White House. The M23, however, was not directly involved in the U.S.-facilitated negotiations and said it would not abide by the terms of an agreement that did not involve it.

    The final step to peace was meant to be a Qatar-facilitated deal between Congo and M23 that would bring about a permanent ceasefire as well as a final agreement to be signed separately between Congo and Rwanda as facilitated by the administration. However, talks have stalled between the different parties amid setbacks, and deadly fighting continues in eastern Congo.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan

    In August, Trump hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House, where they signed a deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called the signed document a “significant milestone.” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed Trump for performing “a miracle.”

    The agreements were intended to reopen key transportation routes and reaffirm Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s commitment to signing a peace treaty. The treaty’s text was initialed by the countries’ foreign ministers at that meeting, which indicated preliminary approval. But the two countries have yet to sign and ratify the deal.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in a bitter conflict over territory since the early 1990s, when ethnic Armenian forces took control of the Karabakh province, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, and nearby territories. In 2020, Azerbaijan’s military recaptured broad swaths of territory. Russia brokered a truce and deployed about 2,000 peacekeepers to the region.

    In September 2023, Azerbaijani forces launched a lightning blitz to retake remaining portions. The two countries have worked toward normalizing ties and signing a peace treaty ever since.

    Cambodia and Thailand

    Officials from Thailand and Cambodia credit Trump with pushing the Asian neighbors to agree to a ceasefire in this summer’s brief border conflict.

    Cambodia and Thailand clashed in the past over their shared border. The latest fighting began in July after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Tensions had been growing since May, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thai politics.

    Both countries agreed in late July to an unconditional ceasefire during a meeting in Malaysia.

    Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pressed for the pact, but there was little headway until Trump intervened. Trump said on social media that he warned the Thai and Cambodian leaders that the U.S. would not move forward with trade agreements if the hostilities continued. Both countries faced economic difficulties and neither had reached tariff deals with the U.S., though most of their Southeast Asian neighbors had.

    According to Ken Lohatepanont, a political analyst and University of Michigan doctoral candidate, “President Trump’s decision to condition a successful conclusion to these talks on a ceasefire likely played a significant role in ensuring that both sides came to the negotiating table when they did.”

    ___

    Associated Press writers Michelle Price, Chinedu Asadu, Melissa Goldin, Jon Gambrell, Grant Peck, Dasha Litvinova, Fay Abuelgasim, Rajesh Roy, and Dusan Stojanovic contributed to this report. ___

    Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • Brit captured & American among 6 killed in failed coup in Congo

    Brit captured & American among 6 killed in failed coup in Congo

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    A BRITISH citizen has been captured and an American man killed after an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Six people died after an armed militia force stormed the presidential palace in capital city Kinshasa on Sunday.

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    Coup leader Christian Malanga with his scared-looking son Marcel inside the presidential palaceCredit: Facebook
    Footage shows two young men, one believed to be Malanga's son Marcel, barefoot and handcuffed with Congolese guards

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    Footage shows two young men, one believed to be Malanga’s son Marcel, barefoot and handcuffed with Congolese guards
    Video showed a barefoot suspect being dragged across a bridge

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    Video showed a barefoot suspect being dragged across a bridge
    Armed Congolese guards patrolling the streets

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    Armed Congolese guards patrolling the streets
    A young man, presumably Marcel, with the other suspect

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    A young man, presumably Marcel, with the other suspect

    At around 4am on Sunday morning, dozens of armed men clad in military gear and brandishing rifles attacked two major government buildings.

    President Felix Tshisekedi’s official home and office – the Palais de le Nation – and the home of economy minister Vital Kamerhe.

    Four of the attackers and two guards were killed in the shootouts that followed around the homes – spread about 1.2 miles apart.

    The attack lasted around three hours before Congolese security forces won out.

    DRC Army spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge said around 50 people have been arrested including three Americans and the Brit – allegedly second in command.

    Ekenge said the group was made up of “several nationalities” and all of those arrested are being interrogated in custody.

    They added: “An attempted coup d’etat has been stopped by the defense and security forces.

    “Around 50, including three American citizens – were arrested and are currently undergoing interrogation by the specialized services of the Armed Forces.

    “We also have a naturalized British subject, the number two of the group.”

    US-Congolese politician Christian Malanga, 41, was named as the leader of the attempted coup.

    Malanga, originally from Kinshasa, had moved to Salt Lake City in Utah with his family in 1998.

    According to reports Malanga was a political extremist and had already attempted a coup in the country in 2017.

    Along with his son Marcel, 21, and right-hand man American Benjamin Zalman-Polun, 36, he stormed the main government complex with other armed men.

    Malanga was shot dead and “neutralised” during the violent clash that unfolded with Congolese cops.

    Marcel, who grew up leading a seemingly normal life in Utah, is now being held prisoner in the African country.

    Who was coup leader Christian Malanga and why did he storm the palace?

    WHY did alleged coup leader Christian Malanga lead a coup in Congo?

    Malanga was a wealthy businessman, politician and once a military official in the Congolese army.

    He was a US citizen after his family secured political asylum there when he was a child.

    He protested against parliamentary elections in the DRC in 2011 and was arrested under former president Joseph Kabila.

    After his release he went to the US and founded an opposition party – the United Congolese Party (UCP).

    Over the years he has campaigned for religious freedom in Africa and led anti corruption training for young Africans living in Europe.

    Officials have said he attempted another coup in 2017.

    During this attempt he chanted “New Zaire!” from inside the Palace.

    The DRC was once called Zaire until 1965.

    He told the camera: “We, the militants, are tired.

    “We cannot drag on with Tshisekedi and Kamerhe, they have done too many stupid things in this country.”

    President Tshisekedi was reelected in December last year following a vote that opposition groups said lacked legitimacy.

    He is yet to form an official government.

    Horrifying footage from the ground captured the chaos that unfolded in Congo after the coup.

    In one clip armed guards could be seen dragging a barefoot man wearing just a t-shirt and trousers over a bridge.

    He is later seen next to Marcel, who is being hauled along by another group of armed guards.

    The first man appears to speak with a British accent as he tries to tell the officials he is unarmed, although it is not known whether he is the Brit being held under interrogation.

    Witnesses saw around 40 people in at least seven vehicles attack Kamerhe’s home, armed with automatic weapons and drones.

    The shooting at the minister’s home lasted almost an hour before security forces arrived.

    Kamerhe and his family were not injured in the violence, but the two police officers guarding them were killed.

    Bullet holes were visible on the walls and on cars at the politician’s home, and windows were broken, AFP reported.

    A minibus in which the attackers arrived was also left abandoned in the street.

    Bizarrely, the coup was announced on Facebook with images of the heavily armed men preparing to attack.

    The assailants moved to the Palais de la Nation near Kamerhe’s home on the banks of the Congo River after the attempted hit.

    Local media said attackers “forced the barrier” of the palace offices, which are empty at night and kept guarded.

    According to the Sunday evening broadcast, other “attackers and mercenaries” were “pre-positioned in the swamps along the river”.

    Once inside the palace, the attackers filmed themselves waving a flag of Zaire, the name of the DRC during the time of Mobutu Sese Seko, a dictator overthrown in 1997.

    The group’s leader Malanga was filmed saying: “Long live Zaire, long live the children of Mobutu.

    “Felix has fallen… We are victorious.”

    Despite claims the president had “fallen”, the attackers were stopped when security forces stormed the palace, putting an end to the attempted coup.

    The gunmen had apparently planned to attack the homes of new PM Judith Suminwa and Defence Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba – but got lost.

    Ekenge said they “could not identify the home” of Suminwa and could not find Bemba at his residence.

    British ambassador to the Congo, Alyson King said on X: “I strongly condemn the armed attacks perpetrated against Vital Kamerhe and the Palais de la Nation today at Kinshasa.

    “My most sincere thoughts go out to the innocent victims and condolences to their families.”

    Lucy Tamlyn, the US ambassador to the DRC, wrote on X today: “I am shocked by the events this morning and very worried by the reports of American citizens allegedly being involved.

    “Rest assured that we are cooperating with authorities in DRC to the fullest extent possible, as they investigate these criminal acts and hold accountable any American citizen involved.”

    The UK Foreign Office has been approached for comment.

    A man in military gear speaks as others stand next to him inside the presidential palace during the attempted coup

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    A man in military gear speaks as others stand next to him inside the presidential palace during the attempted coupCredit: Reuters
    The young bearded man appears to speak with a British accent

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    The young bearded man appears to speak with a British accent
    Malanga with son Marcel when he turned 20

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    Malanga with son Marcel when he turned 20Credit: X
    Congolese security forces secure the streets after Congo's army said it has 'foiled a coup' on Sunday

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    Congolese security forces secure the streets after Congo’s army said it has ‘foiled a coup’ on Sunday
    Congo’s president Felix Tshisekedi

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    Congo’s president Felix TshisekediCredit: Reuters
    Congo’s economy minister Vital Kamerhe

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    Congo’s economy minister Vital KamerheCredit: AFP

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    Ellie Doughty

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  • I was kidnapped by machete-wielding tribesman but still ran length of Africa

    I was kidnapped by machete-wielding tribesman but still ran length of Africa

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    HE used to claim he was the “Hardest Geezer” in the Sussex seaside town of Worthing.

    Now Russ Cook has proved he is the hardest geezer in the world — by becoming the first man in history to run the entire length of Africa.

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    Russ Cook has become the first man in history to run the entire length of Africa – and vowed not to cut his hair or beard until he was finishedCredit: Reuters
    The 'hardest geezer' of Worthing made it from South Africa to Tunisia after 352 dys

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    The ‘hardest geezer’ of Worthing made it from South Africa to Tunisia after 352 dysCredit: Instagram / hardestgeezer
    Russ set off from Cape Africa’s southernmost point, Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet

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    Russ set off from Cape Africa’s southernmost point, Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet

    His 9,891-mile trek from Cape Town to Tunisia, where he crossed the finish line today, spanned 352 days and was the equivalent of 377 marathons.

    Russ, 27, battled injuries, food poisoning, extreme heat and cold, a kidnapping and robbery.

    It took 19million steps and 20 pairs of trainers to complete the epic feat through 16 countries.

    He set off from Cape Africa’s southernmost point, Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet, on April 22, 2023, vowing not to cut his hair or beard until he crossed the finish line in Bizerte in Tunisia.

    The huge red beard and ponytail he grew during the trek earned him the nickname “Africa’s Forrest Gump”, in a nod to the Tom Hanks blockbuster.

    A former big boozer and gambler, Russ turned his life around at 19 after a pal challenged him to run the Brighton half marathon.

    He says: “I was in a bad place and my mate knew it. I was unfit and drinking and blowing money in the bookies, so I agreed to run it.

    “After that, I did the Brighton marathon. Through training, I learnt the values of running and discipline and self-belief, which empowered me, and I applied it to other things in life.”

    Realising he would never win marathons, the ex-cleaner decided to set himself endurance challenges. In 2019, he ran 71 marathons through 11 countries between Asia and London, with little more than a backpack and a hammock. It took him just 66 days.

    ‘It’s been the toughest days of my life’

    In 2020, he broke the world record for the fastest marathon while pulling a car.

    He ran 26 miles along Worthing seafront with a 730kg Suzuki Alto attached to a rope around his waist in 9hr and 56min, knocking 9hr 40min off the record of 19hrs.

    Kelvin Kiptum wins London Marathon with second fastest ever time
    Russ has been compared to beloved Tom Hanks character Forrest Gump

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    Russ has been compared to beloved Tom Hanks character Forrest GumpCredit: Alamy
    An exhausted Russ rehydrates with power drinks

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    An exhausted Russ rehydrates with power drinksCredit: Instagram / hardestgeezer

    Then, in 2021, Russ was buried alive for a week in a box with just 20 litres of water and a ventilation tube.

    He also became the first to complete a marathon on crutches and crossed the finish line of another 26-mile race drunk because he stopped every mile to sink a beer.

    Russ came up with the idea of running across Africa during Covid, in a bid to raise £1million for charities supporting refugees and rough sleepers.

    Incredibly, he had raised over £700,000 earlier tonight.

    He says: “People reckon I’m nuts but, if I want to do something, I will do it regardless of how outlandish it seems.

    I have passed blood for six days and suffered awful food poisoning, a bad back that only painkillers could cure, had visa nightmares, dehydration and suffered exhaustion

    Russ Cook

    “Quitting never even came into it. Not even thought of it.

    “I decided to run Africa for my personal achievement and have some mad stories to tell — and I bloody well did it.

    “I did it first and that makes me so proud. This was all about how far I could push my limits. It is more than just running across a whole continent.

    “When I started running, I didn’t like long distances, but I taught my body to get to the point where it could quite comfortably run all day long without much difficulty.

    “Then came Africa. The blazing heat in the day and the freezing cold at night.

    “Running on sand, through jungles, through sandstorms and snow storms and torrential downpours.

    “I have passed blood for six days and suffered awful food poisoning, a bad back that only painkillers could cure, had visa nightmares, dehydration and suffered exhaustion.”

    In November, Russ was forced to visit medics in Nigeria for scans as his back pain became “excruciating”.

    Russ being scanned after his back pain became 'excruciating'

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    Russ being scanned after his back pain became ‘excruciating’Credit: Instagram / hardestgeezer

    He says: “It got very bloody hard at times, but I would tell myself to stop moaning like a little weasel and get on the road and get that zombie stomp going.”

    Recalling the simple things that inspired him to keep going, Russ adds: “These 352 days have been the toughest of my life, but also such an immense honour.

    “I have met incredible people every single day in every single country who welcomed us.

    “Seeing all the kids running out to jog with us has been wonderful.

    “But, in some remote areas, being white with a big red beard and red hair, I did terrify a few kids!”

    As his epic trek neared an end, Russ focused on his home comforts. He says: “My body was starting to break down. Everything hurt. My legs felt like they were about to fall off. Just a few more days, I said.

    “Now it’s time to party and the daiquiris will be flowing. It will be good to get into a real crisp bed and have a long hot soak in a bath.”

    During his African epic, Russ would sleep in a support vehicle driven by his pals Harry Gallimore and Stan Gaskell.

    It also carried their video gear, to record the world record attempt, and was their link to his social media channels on YouTube, X and Instagram.

    Russ ran an average of 30 miles a day, including 90 days through the Sahara Desert.

    As it was 50C in the day, he ran at night, though it was sometimes still 25C.

    My body was starting to break down. Everything hurt. My legs felt like they were about to fall off

    Russ Cook

    He endured snow storms in Algeria and monsoons in rainforests.

    In the Congo, tribal natives wielding machetes kidnapped him on day 102 last August.

    Russ — who feared they could be cannibals — had been separated from his support vehicle due to the terrain.

    He stumbled into a rural settlement as he headed for their rendezvous point.

    He recalls: “There was a chief there who told me I must give him money. I told him I had none.

    “Pretty soon I found myself surrounded by lots of blokes with machetes, who escorted me into the bush.

    “I didn’t know what they were going to do, so I emptied my bag to show I had nothing but a biscuit, and gave it to them.

    “Then I ran for it, bushwhacking through jungle paths. I kept off any tracks until I was far away.

    “Then, suddenly, two men pulled up on a motorbike and took me on a seven-hour ride into the jungle and I was thinking, ‘Is this it?’.

    “I thought, ‘Here is the self-proclaimed Hardest Geezer being held in a Congo gulag before being ripped apart limb by limb by these people and eaten’.”

    Russ was able to negotiate with his kidnappers during a two day ordeal, and his team paid a ransom.

    It came weeks after Russ — who also suffered a week of food poisoning and bouts of diarrhoea — was help up by armed maniacs in Angola on day 64 last June.

    I thought, ‘Here is the self-proclaimed Hardest Geezer being held in a Congo gulag before being ripped apart limb by limb by these people and eaten’

    Russ Cook

    He had jumped into the support van for lunch at the roadside unaware they were being watched by gunmen planning to rob them.

    He posted on X: “Nothing like a gun being pointed in your face to let you know you are alive.

    “It was like any other day when a couple of lads pop open the side door and demanded everything we have.

    “None of us got killed or injured. We did lose a lot of our gear. Losing our passports was the big blow as it had our visas to move onwards with.

    “It was a nightmare trying to get it sorted in Angola so we had to halt the challenge for two weeks and drive back to Namibia to get new passports and visas.

    “That was 1,281 miles back to Windhoek to sort the paperwork and 1,281 miles back to the start.”

    Russ admits the terrifying experiences were a real eye-opener.

    He says: “One of the reasons I wanted to run the length of Africa is because no one has ever done it before.

    “After the robbery and kidnapping, I was starting to find out why.

    “But 99 per cent of the time people were so good to us, giving us food and help and donating by going to ATMs and giving us cash.”

    From South Africa, Russ ran along the west coast up through Namibia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and Algeria, before finishing in Tunisia just under a year later.

    Supporters joined Russ for the final leg of the challenge

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    Supporters joined Russ for the final leg of the challengeCredit: AFP – Getty
    Other fans waited for him while wearing red beards

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    Other fans waited for him while wearing red beardsCredit: Reuters
    Russ pictured at the finish line

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    Russ pictured at the finish lineCredit: Reuters

    But a problem securing a visa to cross the border into Algeria almost scuppered his challenge on day 278.

    After a four day stalemate and pleas on social media, the UK’s Algerian embassy offered courtesy visas.

    For his final 29.3-mile stretch — in which he completed in 4hr 47min — Russ had invited social media followers to run with him or wait at the finishing line. Some turned up wearing fake red beards.

    And he revealed he couldn’t wait to be reunited with his girlfriend.

    He says: “I warned the girls and boys to get the daiquiris set up.

    “Nothing was going to stop me, even if I had to crawl my way over broken glass to get to the very end.

    “Not too bad for a former fat lad with booze and gambling issues.”

    Paying tribute to his partner on X, he added: “My girl is an absolute diamond. Put her through the emotional wringer daily. Deserves the world and everything in it.

    “Can’t wait to share a strawberry daiquiri with her on a Tunisian beach and tell her how beautiful she is.

    “Would be in a mental asylum in Congo without her.”

    Russ takes a dip after finishing the trek

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    Russ takes a dip after finishing the trekCredit: sky News
    Russ' journey in full

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    Russ’ journey in full

    RUSS’S Project Africa challenge will bring a massive funding boost to two amazing causes – and it is easy for you to pledge your support.

    One beneficiary, The Running Charity, works to transform the lives of young people affected by homelessness and multiple or complex needs.

    The other, Sandblast, helps Sahrawi refugees. To donate, visit: givestar.io/gs/projectafrica

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    Mike Ridley

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  • Could today’s global conflicts bring World War III closer?

    Could today’s global conflicts bring World War III closer?

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    Global wars are raging with major powers in the East and West often arming opposing sides.

    Wars are raging around the world, and many conflicts are pitting East against West, as each side supplies arms to countries they support.

    Meanwhile, the United Nations has been accused of weakness – paralysed by vetoes held by the major powers.

    So, could these global conflicts bring us closer to World War III?

    Presenter: Tom McRae

    Guests:

    Chris Hedges – former Middle East Bureau chief for the New York Times

    Scott Lucas – professor of International Politics, Clinton Institute, University College Dublin

    Huiyao Henry Wang – founder and president, Center for China and Globalization

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  • DR Congo’s President Tshisekedi sworn in for second term amid disputes

    DR Congo’s President Tshisekedi sworn in for second term amid disputes

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    The Congolese president made a landslide victory in December elections highly contested by opposition candidates.

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has been sworn in for a second five-year term following highly contested elections in December.

    “I am taking back the baton of command that you entrusted to me. We want a more united, stronger and prosperous Congo,” Tshisekedi, 60, said during the inauguration ceremony in the capital on Saturday.

    “I am aware of your expectations,” he declared, referring among other things to unemployment, youth, women’s rights and national cohesion.

    With tensions simmering in the vast nation’s volatile eastern provinces, the leader known as “Fatshi” picked Kinshasa’s 80,000-capacity Martyrs sports stadium for the inauguration ceremony.

    The stands were packed well before midday with singing and dancing in full flow awaiting the arrival of several invited heads of African states and traditional chiefs from the country’s 26 provinces.

    Tshisekedi was first sworn in as president in January 2019, after controversially defeating Joseph Kabila.

    He won the first time promising to improve living conditions in the DRC – which boasts mineral riches but has a largely impoverished population of 100 million – and put an end to 25 years of bloodshed in the east.

    The Congolese president has not kept those promises, but this time around, he campaigned strongly on his first-term achievements such as free primary medication, asking for another mandate to “consolidate” the progress.

    The inauguration took place at Kinshasa’s 80,000-capacity Martyrs sports stadium on Saturday [Arsene Mpiana Monkwe/AFP]

    ‘Discontent’

    The Congolese president made a landslide victory in the December 20 elections winning more than 70 percent of the vote.

    The election had more than 40 percent turnout, with some 18 million people voting.

    Even before the results were announced in late December, opposition candidates – including businessman Moise Katumbi who finished behind Tshisekedi with 18 percent of the vote – said they rejected the results and called on the population to mobilise.

    The logistical problems included many polling stations either opening late or not opening at all. Materials were sometimes lacking, and many voter cards were rendered illegible due to smudged ink.

    Voting in the election had to be extended into a second day, something local observers and civil society organisations have deemed illegal, and parts of the country were still casting ballots five days after election day.

    Martin Fayulu, who has said he was also robbed at the last presidential vote, garnered 5 percent. Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, who won the prize winner for his work with rape victims, scored 0.22 percent. These candidates called for the election results to be cancelled.

    Katumbi and Fayulu had appealed to supporters to “show their discontent” on Saturday. They urged people “to stand up and say ‘no’”, from wherever they happen to be.

    AFP reporters said tyres were burned Saturday morning on the streets of Goma, the main hub of the conflict-torn eastern province of North Kivu.

    In the provincial town of Beni, also in the east, youths tried to set up barricades but police intervened.

    The electoral commission, CENI, has recognised cases of fraud, vandalism and intimidation, as well as the use of illegal voting machines.

    The DRC has a history of disputed elections that can turn violent, and many of its citizens harbour little trust in the country’s institutions.

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  • UN says all peacekeepers will leave DR Congo by end of 2024

    UN says all peacekeepers will leave DR Congo by end of 2024

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    In first phase of the withdrawal, about 2,000 UN troops will leave the restive eastern areas by the end of April.

    The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has helped in the fight against rebels for more than two decades, will completely withdraw from the country by December.

    “After 25 years of presence, MONUSCO will definitively leave the DRC no later than the end of 2024,” Bintou Keita, head of the mission known as MONUSCO said at a media briefing in the Congolese capital Kinshasa on Saturday.

    The announcement comes after the Congolese government – which was just re-elected in a disputed vote – called for the UN mission to leave the country, saying it had failed to protect civilians from armed groups.

    Numerous armed groups, including the ​​Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and M23, are active in restive eastern areas such as North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces, where civilians face violence and displacement.

    The withdrawal will take place in three phases.

    In the first phase, about 2,000 UN troops will leave South Kivu by the end of April, taking the currently 13,500-strong MONUSCO force to 11,500, Keita said.

    Fourteen UN bases in the province will be taken over by Congolese security forces, she explained.

    After that, forces in North Kivu and Ituri will also leave.

    Not the ‘end of the fight’

    Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula confirmed to a news conference in Kinshasa that the remaining UN forces are expected to be out of the country by December 31.

    “The withdrawal of MONUSCO does not necessarily mean the end of the fight we are undertaking to protect the territorial interests of our country, we must continue to struggle,” Lutundula said.

    MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN operation in 2010 to help quell insecurity in the east of the Central African country, where armed groups fight over territory and resources. But in recent years, its presence has become increasingly unpopular.

    In December, the UN’s Security Council voted unanimously in favour of gradually phasing out its peacekeeping operations.

    Keita said on Saturday that the end of the mission will not be “the end of the United Nations” in the country.

    The Congolese government has also directed an East African regional force, deployed last year to help end the fighting, to leave the country for similar reasons as the UN peacekeeping mission.

    More than seven million people have been displaced due to conflicts in DRC, mostly in the three eastern provinces where a myriad of armed groups continue to operate.

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  • DR Congo’s Katumbi calls for election to be annulled as protests planned

    DR Congo’s Katumbi calls for election to be annulled as protests planned

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    Western governments call for restraint amid fears of a repeat of violence that has followed past elections.

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) presidential election is facing a crisis of legitimacy amid opposition calls for the vote to be annulled due to alleged fraud.

    Five opposition candidates, including former provincial Governor Moise Katumbi, said on Saturday the vote should not stand as it had been tainted by “massive fraud.”

    Five other opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege and former oil executive Martin Fayulu, have called for a protest march against the result next Wednesday.

    “We will protest against the irregularities noted during the voting operations,” they said in a letter to the governor of Kinshasa, where they plan to rally.

    About 44 million people in the mineral-rich Central African nation were registered to vote in the elections to choose the country’s president, national and regional lawmakers, and local councillors.

    President Felix Tshisekedi, who had a sizeable lead in preliminary results of voting by diaspora voters, is running for re-election against 18 opposition candidates.

    Western governments have called for restraint amid fears of a repeat of the violence that has followed disputed election results in the past.

    In a joint statement on Saturday, 12 European embassies and the Canadian embassy called for restraint.

    “As the vote counting continues, we urge all stakeholders, especially political actors, candidates and their supporters, to exercise restraint, allow the process to unfold, and raise their concerns peacefully,” the embassies said.

    The vote has been marred by accusations of corruption and chaotic organisation since it kicked off on Wednesday, with authorities extending the poll into Thursday after some polling stations failed to open and some voters could not find their names on registers.

    While electoral authorities officially extended the vote only until Thursday, ballots were still being cast on Saturday in remote areas.

    The unscheduled extension prompted fierce pushback from opposition candidates, some of whom labelled the move unconstitutional and called for a new election.

    Independent observers have raised concerns about the vote, with the United States-based Carter Center describing “serious irregularities” at 21 out of 109 polling stations it visited and noting “a lack of confidence in the process”.

    The DRC, which is one of the world’s poorest countries despite holding vast reserves of copper, cobalt and gold, has a history of election-related violence.

    At least 19 people were killed in election-related violence in the run-up to the vote.

    Tshisekedi’s election as president in 2018 was also marred by accusations of fraud.

    At least 34 people have been killed and 59 others wounded in protests related to the vote, according to the United Nations.

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  • UAE signs deal to develop mines in eastern DR Congo

    UAE signs deal to develop mines in eastern DR Congo

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    The agreement is reached after the DRC signed a 25-year contract in December with a UAE firm over export rights for artisanally mined ores.

    The United Arab Emirates has signed a $1.9bn deal with a state mining company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to develop at least four mines in the African country’s turbulent east, the Congolese presidency says.

    President Felix Tshisekedi’s office said on Monday that an Emirati government delegation had signed the partnership in the capital, Kinshasa, with Societe Aurifere du Kivu et du Maniema (Sakima).

    The deal would see the “construction of more than 4 industrial mines” in the provinces of South Kivu and Maniema, according to the statement.

    State-owned Sakima has mining concessions for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold in that part of the DRC.

    The statement gave no other details about the deal, including what type of minerals would be extracted.

    The agreement was inked after the DRC signed a 25-year contract in December with UAE firm Primera Group over export rights for some artisanally mined ores. Those are metals extracted by independent miners who are not employed by mining companies.

    The contract awarded Primera Group a majority stake in two joint ventures, Primera Gold and Primera Metals.

    Primera Gold and Primera Metals received preferential export rates for artisanally mined gold, coltan, tin, tantalum and tungsten.

    The DRC has touted the initiative as a way to undercut mineral smugglers and guarantee a better livelihood for informal miners.

    Militias – up to 120 such groups, according to a count by the United Nations – have plagued eastern DRC for decades, and they have been sustained in part by trading minerals obtained illicitly.

    The longstanding conflict there has continued despite deployments of a regional peacekeeping force and a UN military contingent. At least 5 million people are internally displaced and one million more have fled abroad since the latest iteration of the conflict broke out in May 2021, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.

    Primera Gold began operations in South Kivu province in January and by May had shipped 1 tonne of certified gold, according to the Congolese finance ministry.

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  • Rights group reports allegations of dozens of abuses in critical minerals supply chains

    Rights group reports allegations of dozens of abuses in critical minerals supply chains

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    HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A human rights advocacy group says it found allegations of dozens of labor and environmental abuses by Chinese-invested companies involved in mining or processing minerals used in renewable energy.

    The report released Thursday by the Business and Human Rights Resource Center in London says it found 102 cases of alleged abuses in all phases of using such minerals: from initial explorations and licensing to mining and processing.

    The report studied supply chains for nine minerals — cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, zinc, aluminum, chromium and the so-called rare earth elements. All are vital for high-tech products such as solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles.

    Israeli troops have shot and killed a Palestinian man during new unrest in the West Bank. Monday’s shooting came as a wave of violence in the occupied territory showed no signs of slowing.

    Visiting Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, left, shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang after they witnessed signing on agreement for both countries at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, July 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)

    Leaders of the Solomon Islands and China have promised to expand relations that have fueled unease in Washington and Australia about Beijing’s influence in the South Pacific.

    FILE - Egyptians walk past a poster depicting a U.S. dollar outside an exchange office in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Egypt’s annual inflation rate set a record high in June, as the most populous Arab country continues to battle price hikes and a depreciating currency, the Egyptian statistics bureau said Monday, July 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

    Egypt’s statistics bureau says the country’s annual inflation rate has set a record high, reaching 36.8% last month compared to 33.7% in May.

    FILE - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to journalists during a joint news conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, early Saturday, July 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country could approve Sweden’s membership in NATO if European nations “open the way” to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

    Indonesia, with 27 cases, had the highest, followed by Peru with 16 and the Democratic Republic of Congo with 12, Myanmar with 11, and Zimbabwe with 7.

    Over two-thirds involved human rights violations, with Indigenous communities the most affected.

    Many projects invested in or operated by Chinese companies were located in countries that had mineral wealth but “limited options for victims to seek remedy.”

    To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the global guardrail set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the world needs to triple its clean energy capacity by 2030 from where it was last year, according to the International Energy Agency. That has triggered a scramble for so-called “transition minerals” like cobalt, copper, lithium and zinc that are needed in clean energy technologies.

    China isn’t the only one — a separate tracker from the advocacy group notes similar alleged abuses by companies based out of the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and Canada — but it plays a vital role in mining, processing, and refining these minerals, as well as making solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicle batteries. So its companies are central to ensuring equity and fairness in the world’s transition away from fossil fuels.

    “The bottom line is if the energy transition is not fair, it will not be as fast as it needs to be and we will fail to meet our climate deadlines,” said Betty Yolanda, the organization’s Director of Regional Programs.

    Climate change has an inordinate impact on the world’s poor, who have done the least to contribute to warming and now are bearing the brunt of the negative impacts of mining the minerals needed for the transition to renewables, she said, speaking on behalf of the authors of the report.

    The report’s authors did not want to be identified publicly because of fears of retaliation.

    Rich countries like Australia that have abundant mineral wealth don’t need foreign investments for extraction, though projects often do involve foreign investors. But copper-rich developing nations like Peru and nickel-exporting countries like Indonesia and the Philippines increasingly rely on Chinese investment and know-how to mine and process those minerals, generally with fewer regulatory safeguards.

    “This is the time to not do the same mistakes of the past. The renewable energy transition must be done in a just and equitable way,” said Eric Ngang, global policy adviser for the Natural Resources and Governance Department of Global Witness, a UK-based non-profit not involved in the report.

    Weak legal safeguards against such abuses facilitate corrupt practices that benefit companies and dishonest politicians at the expense of the environment and human rights.

    About 42% of the human rights allegations detailed in the report were concentrated in Asia & the Pacific, 27% were in Latin America and 24% in Africa. More than half were cases of environmental damage, often loss of access to safe water supplies. More than a third involved allegations workers’ rights were violated, with the majority linked to health and safety risks at work.

    Those are likely the “tip of the iceberg,” Yolanda said, since the report relies on publicly available information about alleged abuses committed by companies, cases where civil society has taken action, or where attacks against activists have been reported. “It is most difficult to receive information from countries with very little civic freedom and from conflict zones,” she added.

    The report noted that improved safeguards are crucial as countries increasingly try to keep some of the value from their mineral wealth at home by requiring miners and companies downstream in the supply chain to build smelters and other infrastructure. For instance, Indonesia, which has the world’s largest nickel supply, is trying to set itself up as a hub for making electric vehicles and also make nickel-based batteries to create a complete nickel supply chain that involves Chinese investments.

    Without safeguards, these ambitions “may be frightfully compromised” by the harm done to people and the environment, the report said.

    Only 7 of the 39 Chinese mining companies mentioned in the report had published human rights policies and despite transparency commitments, the Business and Human Rights Resource Center received only 4 responses from 22 companies in the sector that has been approached with the allegations.

    China’s Huayou Cobalt “partially” admitted allegations of environmental damage in Indonesia by acknowledging social and enviromental challenges, the report said. But the company denied alleged exploitation of Chinese workers in a separate project. Ruashi Mining said that human rights abuse allegations in the Democratic Republic of Congo were false and the state-run conglomerate Norinco denied having corrupt ties with Myanmar’s army elite.

    China lacks laws to regulate the impacts of Chinese overseas businesses and supply chains and policies on such issues are mostly voluntary. Such problems are being addressed in the U.S. and Europe and the report said Japan and South Korea increasingly are making human rights and environmental due diligence a part of their regulatory frameworks.

    ___

    Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • The cost of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s war with M23

    The cost of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s war with M23

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    From: UpFront

    The DRC’s Minister of Communications, Patrick Muyaya, on the fighting in his country and Rwanda’s role in the conflict.

    Continuing fighting in the resource-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo, between the army and the Mouvement du 23 Mars, or M23, has left hundreds dead and millions displaced in the country’s eastern provinces.

    The DRC government blames neighbouring Rwanda for supporting M23, an allegation Kigali has denied, despite evidence documented by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch among others.

    As fighting intensifies, many fear the conflict could escalate into war between the two countries.

    So what’s in store for the Congolese people? And is there a path towards peace?

    On UpFront, DRC Minister of Communications and government spokesperson, Patrick Muyaya, joins Marc Lamont Hill to discuss the conflict in his country and address regional fears that the fighting could spill across DRC’s borders.

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  • East African leaders urge ceasefire in eastern DR Congo

    East African leaders urge ceasefire in eastern DR Congo

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    The call came after leaders of the East African Community held a summit in Burundi on Saturday.

    East African regional leaders have renewed their call for an immediate ceasefire by all sides in the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that pits the country’s military against a rebel group that the government has accused Rwanda of supporting.

    At a summit in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura on Saturday, the leaders of the regional East African Community (EAC) bloc enjoined an “immediate ceasefire by all parties,” according to a communique issued at the end of the meeting.

    “The summit reiterated its call to all parties to de-escalate tensions,” the communique read.

    The M23 rebel group has seized large areas of eastern DRC’s North Kivu province in a rapid onslaught since October 20 that has threatened the provincial capital, Goma.

    The conflict has inflamed regional tensions with the DRC accusing neighbour Rwanda of backing and sponsoring the Tutsi-led rebellion. United Nations experts and Western powers have also accused Rwanda of backing the M23. Rwanda has denied any involvement.

    Saturday’s meeting was the latest diplomatic effort to try to end the conflict, which has displaced at least 520,000 people since March 2022 in North Kivu.

    Earlier this week, Pope Francis visited the DRC and called for an end to violence.

    Regional leaders had brokered an agreement in November under which the rebels were meant to cease fire and withdraw from recently seized positions by January 15, but no withdrawal took place.

    A UN internal report said the rebels were flouting the ceasefire and withdrawal terms.

    Saturday’s summit was attended by heads of state from Rwanda, DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi and other senior officials from the region.

    They also demanded the withdrawal of all foreign and armed groups from the DRC and asked regional military chiefs to meet within one week and set a timeframe for the withdrawal.

    On January 27, M23 rebels took control of the town of Kitshanga in Masisi territory and control of a new road, further isolating the provincial capital Goma.

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  • Pope consoles Congolese victims: ‘Your pain is my pain’

    Pope consoles Congolese victims: ‘Your pain is my pain’

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    KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Congo’s people to forgive those who committed “inhuman violence” against them, celebrating a Mass for 1 million people and then hearing firsthand of the atrocities some of them have endured: a teenage girl “raped like an animal” for months; a young man who watched as his father was decapitated; a former sex slave who was forced into cannibalism.

    Congolese from the country’s violence-wracked east traveled to the capital of Kinshasa to tell the pope of the horrific violence they suffered for years as rebel groups sought to gain territory in the mineral-rich region through attacks that have forced more than 5 million people to flee their homes.

    Francis sat in silence as victim after victim came forward to tell their stories. He watched as they offered up at the foot of a crucifix a symbol of their pain: the machete used to maim and kill, or the straw bed mat on which they had been raped. When they knelt in front of him for a blessing, Francis placed his hand on their heads, or on the stumps of the arms that remained.

    “Your tears are my tears; your pain is my pain,” Francis told them. “To every family that grieves or is displaced by the burning of villages and other war crimes, to the survivors of sexual violence and to every injured child and adult, I say: I am with you; I want to bring you God’s caress.”

    The intimate encounter at the Vatican Embassy in Kinshasa was an extraordinary moment of a pastor seeking to console his flock, and of a pope seeking to shine a spotlight on what Francis has called a “forgotten genocide” that barely makes the news. Despite being home to one of the largest U.N. peacekeeping operation in the world, eastern Congo has been mired in violence since the early 1990s as rebels and miliitas vie for control of mineral-rich territory.

    “What a scandal and what hypocrisy, as people are being raped and killed, while the commerce that causes this violence and death continues to flourish!” Francis said of the foreign powers and extraction industries that are exploiting Congo’s east. “Enough!”

    Francis had originally planned to visit the eastern province of North Kivu, where rebel groups have intensified attacks in the past year, when his trip was initially scheduled for July.

    But after the trip was rescheduled, the Vatican had to cancel the visit to Goma due to the fighting that has forced some 5.7 million people to flee their homes, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Congo, where already some 26.4 million people face hunger, according to the World Food Program.

    Instead, residents of the east came to Francis, and their testimony was gut-wrenching.

    Ladislas Kambale Kombi, from the Beni area of eastern North Kivu province, told Francis of watching as men in military uniforms decapitated his father, placed his head in a basket and then took off with his mother, whom he never saw again.

    “At night, I cannot sleep,” he said. “It is hard to understand such wickedness, such near-animal-like brutality.”

    Bijoux Makumbi Kamala, 17, told of being kidnapped in 2020 by rebels in Walikale, in North Kivu province as she went to fetch water. Speaking through a translator, she said she was raped daily by the commander “like an animal,” until she escaped after 19 months.

    “It was useless to scream, because no one could hear me or come to my rescue,” she said, adding that she gave birth to twin girls “who will never know their father” and found consolation through services offered by the Catholic Church.

    The Associated Press usually does not identify victims of sexual violence, but those who told their stories to Francis gave their names in public at the start of their testimony.

    Emelda M’karhungulu, from a village near Bukavu in Congo’s South Kivu province, spoke through a translator of having been kept as a sexual slave for three months at age 16 by armed men who invaded her village in 2005. She said she was raped daily by five to 10 men who then forced their captives to eat the flesh of the men they had killed, mixed with animal meat and maize paste.

    “That was our food each day; whoever refused they would behead and would feed them to us,” she said. M’karhungulu said she eventually escaped one day when fetching water.

    While forced cannibalism is not known to be widespread, the United Nations and human rights groups documented how it was used as a weapon of war in the early 2000s in parts of eastern Congo.

    A statement prepared months ago by Désiré Dhetsina was read aloud on his behalf; Dhetsina disappeared after surviving an attack Feb. 1, 2022, on a camp for internally displaced people in Ituri province, on Congo’s northeastern border with Uganda.

    “I saw savagery: People carved up like meat in a butcher shop; women disemboweled, men decapitated,” Dhetsina reported. As his story was read to Francis, two woman stood up in front of the pope and raised into the air the stumps that remained of their mutilated arms.

    Francis condemned the violence and urged the Congolese victims to use their pain for good, to sow peace and reconciliation. It was a message he also delivered earlier in the day at a Mass to the throngs at Kinshasa’s Ndolo airport, where he cited the example of Christ who forgave those who betrayed him.

    “He showed them his wounds because forgiveness is born from wounds,” Francis said. “It is born when our wounds do not leave scars of hatred, but become the means by which we make room for others and accept their weaknesses. Our weakness becomes an opportunity, and forgiveness becomes the path to peace.”

    Roughly half of Congo’s 105 million people are Catholic, according to the Vatican, which also estimated that 1 million people were on hand for Francis’ Mass, citing local organizers.

    Among the faithful was Clément Konde, who traveled from Kisantu, a town in the province of Central Kongo, more than 150 kilometers (95 miles) from Kinshasa. He planned to participate in all of Francis’ events this week before the pontiff heads to South Sudan, the second leg of his African journey.

    “To my children and to the children who stayed in my city, I will bring them the message of the Holy Father, the message of peace and reconciliation,” Konde said.

    ___

    This story has been updated to correct the last name of one person quoted. It is Konde, not L’onde. ___

    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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  • Pope slams foreign plundering of Africa as he arrives in DR Congo

    Pope slams foreign plundering of Africa as he arrives in DR Congo

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    The 86-year-old Francis says a ‘forgotten genocide’ is under way in the DRC as he begins his trip to two African nations.

    Pope Francis has demanded that foreign powers stop plundering Africa’s natural resources for the “poison of their own greed” after he landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a trip to two African nations.

    The 86-year-old Francis is the first pontiff to visit DR Congo since Pope John Paul II did so in 1985, when the country was still known as Zaire.

    “Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa!” Francis said on Tuesday to applause in his opening speech to Congolese government authorities and the diplomatic corps in the garden of Kinshasa’s national palace.

    Calling Congo’s vast mineral and natural wealth a “diamond of creation”, Francis demanded that foreign interests stop carving up the country for their own interests and acknowledge their role in the economic “enslavement” of the Congolese people.

    “Stop choking Africa. It is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered,” said history’s first Latin American pope, who has long railed at how wealthy countries have exploited the resources of poorer ones for their own profit.

    Residents of Kinshasa welcome Pope Francis on his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, on January 31, 2023 [Justin Makangara/Reuters]

    Francis pointed the finger at the role colonial powers such as Belgium played in the exploitation of Congo until the country, which is 80 times the size of Belgium, gained its independence in 1960. He also said neighbouring countries are playing a similar role today.

    The 86-year-old didn’t identify Belgium or any neighbouring country by name, but he spared no word of condemnation, saying there was a “forgotten genocide” under way.

    “The poison of greed has smeared its diamonds with blood,” Francis said.

    “May the world acknowledge the catastrophic things that were done over the centuries to the detriment of the local peoples, and not forget this country and this continent.”

    Pope Francis is welcomed by residents of Kinshasa, on his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 31, 2023
    Pope Francis is welcomed by residents of Kinshasa on January 31, 2023 [Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters]

    Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from Kinshasa, said hundreds if not thousands of people on the roads followed the pope’s motorcade on motorbikes to the presidential palace from the airport.

    “The roads were lined up with church groups and schoolchildren from the many Catholic-run church schools run over here in Congo,” he added.

    “The Catholic church runs about 60 percent of health and education services here … it’s what makes the Catholic Church such a significant institution here [in Congo],” Webb added.

    About half of Congo’s population of 90 million are Roman Catholics.

    The six-day trip, which also includes a stop in South Sudan, was originally scheduled for July 2022, but was postponed because of Francis’s knee problems, which were still so serious on Tuesday that he could not stand to greet journalists in the plane heading to Kinshasa and was forced to use a wheelchair on the ground.

    Fighting in DRC

    Francis was also supposed to have included a stop in Goma, in eastern Congo, but the surrounding North Kivu region has been plagued by intense fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by fighters linked to the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.

    The fighting has displaced some 5.7 million people, a fifth of them last year alone, according to the World Food Programme.

    Congo accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group fighting government troops in the east. Rwanda denies this.

    “As well as armed militias, foreign powers hungry for the minerals in our soil commit, with the direct and cowardly support of our neighbour Rwanda, cruel atrocities,” said Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, speaking just before the pope on the same stage.

    The pope said the Congolese people were fighting to preserve their territorial integrity “against deplorable attempts to fragment the country”. The pope did not name Rwanda in his address or take sides in the dispute.

    Instead of travelling to Goma, Francis will meet with a delegation of people from the east who will travel to Kinshasa for a private encounter at the Vatican embassy on Wednesday.

    The plan calls for them to participate in a ceremony in which they jointly commit to forgiving their assailants.

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  • Map: Which countries has Pope Francis visited?

    Map: Which countries has Pope Francis visited?

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    Pope Francis’ trip to the DRC is the first papal visit since John Paul II travelled there in 1985.

    Pope Francis is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan this week.

    The 86-year-old leader of the Catholic church will start his trip on Tuesday in the Congolese capital Kinshasa before heading to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Friday.

    The Vatican’s envoy to the DRC, where Catholics make up about half of the population, has said the trip will remind the world not to ignore decades-long conflicts there.

    An estimated 5.7 million people are internally displaced in the DRC and 26 million face severe hunger, largely because of the impact of armed conflict by multiple rebel groups, according to the United Nations.

    (Al Jazeera)

    The trip will be Francis’s 40th abroad since he was elected supreme pontiff in 2013 following the resignation of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI. Over the course of these trips, the pope has visited 59 countries.

    Pope Francis’ trip to the DRC is the first visit by a pope since John Paul II travelled there in 1985 – it was still known as Zaire at the time.

    The DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and has a population of some 90 million people. The Church runs about 40 percent of the country’s health facilities and about 6 million children are taught in Catholic schools.

    The countries the pope has visited include:

    Americas

    • Brazil: July 2013
    • Bolivia: July 2015
    • Ecuador: July 2015
    • Paraguay: July 2015
    • United States: September 2015
    • Cuba: September 2015, February 2016
    • Mexico: February 2016
    • Colombia: September 2017
    • Chile: January 2018
    • Peru: January 2018
    • Panama: January 2019
    • Canada: July 2022
    undefined
    Pope Francis waves to people from his popemobile in the Varginha slum, part of the Manguinhos slum complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 25, 2013.

    Asia

    • South Korea: August 2014
    • Sri Lanka: January 2015
    • Philippines: January 2015
    • Armenia: June 2016
    • Georgia: September 2016
    • Azerbaijan: October 2016
    • Myanmar: November 2017
    • Bangladesh: November 2017
    • Thailand: November 2019
    • Japan: November 2019
    • Kazakhstan: September 2022
    Pope Francis arrives at Yangon International Airport
    Pope Francis is welcomed as he arrives at Yangon International Airport, Myanmar November 27, 2017. [Max Rossi / REUTERS]

    Africa

    • Kenya: November 2015
    • Uganda: November 2015
    • Central African Republic: November 2015
    • Egypt: April 2017
    • Morocco: March 2019
    • Mozambique: September 2019
    • Madagascar: September 2019
    • Mauritius: September 2019
    • Democratic Republic of Congo: January 2023
    • South Sudan: February 2023 (planned)
    Pope Francis
    Pope Francis, centre-left, walks out in a procession after leading a Holy Mass for the Martyrs of Uganda at the Catholic Sanctuary in Namugongo, Kampala, Uganda, November 28, 2015 [Ben Curtis / AP Photo]

    Europe

    • Albania: September 2014
    • France: November 2014
    • Turkey: November 2014
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina: June 2015
    • Greece: April 2016
    • Poland: July 2016
    • Sweden: October 2016
    • Portugal: May 2017
    • Switzerland: June 2018
    • Ireland: August 2018
    • Estonia: September 2018
    • Latvia: September 2018
    • Lithuania: September 2018
    • Bulgaria: May 2019
    • North Macedonia: May 2019
    • Romania: May 2019
    • Hungary: September 2021
    • Slovakia: September 2021
    • Cyprus: December 2021
    • Greece: December 2021
    • Malta: April 2022
    Pope Francis speaks in the “Ambassadors' Chamber” of the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, Malta
    Pope Francis speaks in the Ambassadors’ Chamber of the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, Malta, on April 2, 2022 [Remo Casilli / REUTERS]

    Middle East

    • Israel: May 2014
    • Jordan: May 2014
    • Palestine: May 2014
    • United Arab Emirates: February 2019
    • Iraq: March 2019
    • Bahrain: November 2022
    Pope Francis
    Pope Francis laughs with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the Sakhir Palace during his apostolic journey, south of Manama, Bahrain, November 3, 2022 [Yara Nardi/Reuters]

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  • UNICEF urges release of 13 kidnapped children in eastern DRC

    UNICEF urges release of 13 kidnapped children in eastern DRC

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    The ADF, a central African affiliate of ISIL, is one of the deadliest armed groups in eastern DRC.

    The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF urged on Friday for the release of 13 children who were abducted during a deadly attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern region this month.

    In a statement, the agency said 11 boys and two girls were believed to have been kidnapped by an armed group during an attack on a village in North Kivu province.

    “UNICEF which condemns the abduction, is concerned that the abducted children are being inhumanely treated and is calling for them to be released immediately,” it said.

    On January 22, suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) members killed at least 23 people during an attack on the village of Makugwe and kidnapped several people, sources previously told AFP.

    The ADF is one of the deadliest armed groups in eastern DRC, a volatile region that has been plagued by violence for decades.

    The armed group – which the ISIL (ISIS) group has claimed as its central African affiliate – has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in Uganda.

    There are more than 120 other armed groups in eastern DRC, including the M23 rebels, which Kinshasa, the EU and UN have said are being backed by Rwanda. Kigali has continued to deny the allegations.

    In 2021, the United States officially linked the ADF to ISIL and added it to its list of foreign “terrorist” organisations.

    On January 15, suspected ADF operatives also detonated a bomb in a church in North Kivu, killing at least 14 people and injuring another 63.

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  • UN condemns M23 rebel offensive on DRC town as hundreds flee

    UN condemns M23 rebel offensive on DRC town as hundreds flee

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    The M23 rebels have seized areas of eastern DRC’s North Kivu province in a rapid onslaught since May.

    The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has condemned an offensive by M23 rebels in the east of the country that forced 450 people, including women and children, to seek refuge around its base in Kitshanga town.

    “The M23 must cease all hostility and withdraw from occupied areas, in accordance with the roadmap set out in the Luanda mini-summit,” the mission, known by its acronym MONUSCO, said on Twitter on Thursday.

    The Kitshanga attack is a new offensive by rebels who have seized areas of eastern DRC’s North Kivu province in a rapid onslaught since May that threatened the provincial capital, Goma.

    The armed uprising has inflamed regional tensions, with DRC accusing neighbour Rwanda of backing and sponsoring the Tutsi-led rebellion. United Nations experts and the European Union have accused Rwanda of backing the M23.

    The government of Rwanda has denied any involvement.

    Regional leaders brokered an agreement in November under which the rebels were meant to withdraw from recently seized positions by January 15 as part of attempts to end the fighting that has displaced at least 450,000 people.

    But a UN internal report said the rebels were flouting the ceasefire.

    Two witnesses who fled Kitshanga and joined the throng of refugees at the MONUSCO base said the rebels had taken control of the town.

    A spokesman for the DRC government and the army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The M23 said in a statement that it was obliged to intervene to protect Tutsis in Kitshanga and other areas.

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  • DRC police disperse protest against slow M23 rebel pullback

    DRC police disperse protest against slow M23 rebel pullback

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    The rebels have been accused of flouting a ceasefire and making withdrawals critics consider to be mainly ceremonial.

    Police have fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma. Protesters on Wednesday were calling for authorities to enforce an agreed withdrawal of M23 rebels from occupied territory in the region.

    Regional leaders brokered a ceasefire in November, under which the Tutsi-led M23 group – which launched a fresh offensive last year – was meant to pull out of recently captured positions. The deadline for this was January 15, according to the DRC’s presidency.

    But M23 has been accused of flouting the deal and occupying territory elsewhere to compensate for withdrawals that critics have argued were mainly ceremonial. President Felix Tshisekedi made similar accusations on Tuesday.

    The M23 has denied the claims and in turn, accused DRC authorities of breaching of the agreement.

    Civil society groups called protests in Goma on Wednesday to denounce delays in implementing the M23 withdrawal.

    City authorities had banned the march, but hundreds still took part, chanting and holding signs denouncing the East African Community (EAC), which set up a regional military force last year to end the unrest.

    “We are asking EAC forces to leave the city and wage offensives where the M23 is,” said protester Gloire Bagaya, 26.

    “They should either go home or go the front line against the enemy.”

    Police fired tear gas at the demonstrators and arrested about a dozen people, including three journalists, according to a Reuters reporter on the scene.

    A local police commander denied that any arrests were made. The EAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The M23’s latest offensive has displaced at least 450,000 people and set off a diplomatic crisis between DRC and neighbouring Rwanda.

    The DRC has accused Rwanda of exacerbating the conflict by supporting the rebels – an accusation levelled also by Western powers and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied the claims.

    Several protests have taken place in Goma during the past months, the latest directed at Rwanda and the ceasefire deal.

    Complaints that UN peacekeepers have failed to protect civilians against longstanding militia violence spurred deadly protests.

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  • Several killed in DR Congo church bomb attack

    Several killed in DR Congo church bomb attack

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    Attack took place during a Sunday service in the eastern city of Kasindi, the army said.

    At least five people have been killed and 15 others wounded in a bomb attack during a service at a Protestant church in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

    An army spokesman said the attack during the Sunday service in the city of Kasindi, on the border with Uganda, was likely carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group that has pledged allegiance to ISIL (ISIS).

    “Despite the security measures put in place, the first indications show that it is the ADF which is behind this bomb attack,” Anthony Mualushay told Reuters news agency.

    “I just came back from the scene, where I saw the bodies of children on the ground,” Alain Kitsa, a Kasindi resident, said, describing the atmosphere in the town as tense.

    The ADF, which began as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in the DRC since the late 1990s, has not claimed responsibility for the bombing.

    Kasindi is in a province where Congolese and Ugandan forces have launched a campaign against the ADF.

    It pledged allegiance to ISIL in mid-2019 and is accused of killing hundreds of villagers in frequent raids over the past two years.

    More than 120 armed groups roam mineral-rich eastern DRC, many are the legacy of regional wars that flared at the turn of the century.

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  • UN extends Congo peacekeeping force with an eye to its exit

    UN extends Congo peacekeeping force with an eye to its exit

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    UNITED NATIONS — The Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo with an eye to its eventual exit, and to lift a notification requirement on some arms purchases which Congo’s foreign minister recently called “unjustified and humiliating.”

    The separate resolutions were approved amid worsening security in Congo’s mineral-rich east, a region rife with rebel groups and an upsurge in violence and civilian killings that has uprooted tens of thousands of its inhabitants.

    The resolution extending the U.N. peacekeeping force known as MONUSCO until Dec. 20, 2023, strongly condemns all domestic and foreign armed groups operating in the country and demands they immediately cease all violence and destabilizing actions “and the illegal exploitation and trafficking of natural resources.”

    It also demands the immediate withdrawal of M23 rebels, who have been fighting a coalition of armed civilian protection militias in the east for more than a year, as agreed at a mini-summit in the Angolan capital Luanda in late November and endorsed by the African Union. It also expresses concern about reported links between Uganda-based Allied Democratic Forces rebels and “terrorist networks” in eastern Congo.

    The Security Council said Congo “continues to suffer from recurring and evolving cycles of conflict and persistent violence by foreign and domestic armed groups, which exacerbate a deeply concerning security, human rights and humanitarian crisis, as well as inter-communal and militia violence” in areas of the country.

    It expressed great concern at the humanitarian situation in the country that has left an estimated 27 million Congolese in need of aid, a growing number of internally displaced people now estimated at 5.7 million as well as 523,000 refugees from other nearby countries, and 1 million refugees from Congo elsewhere in Africa as a result of ongoing hostilities.

    The resolution strongly urged all Congolese political players to implement “critical governance, security and economic reforms,” and to deliver on President Felix Tshisekedi’s commitments to pursue national unity, strengthen the rule of law and respect for human rights, fight against corruption, and launch development programs to reduce poverty.

    It urged the government to hold accountable those responsible for violating human rights and international humanitarian law. It strongly condemned sexual violence, especially by armed groups, welcomed government efforts to combat and prevent the scourge, and urged the government to strengthen its efforts to combat impunity for rape and other sexual abuse.

    The resolution maintains MONUSCO’s troop ceiling at 13,500 military personnel, 600 military observers and staff officers, and about 2,000 police.

    MONUSCO’s mission, which was streamlined in Tuesday’s resolution, is primarily to protect civilians threatened by violence, secondly to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate combatants, and thirdly to provide strategic and technical advice on reforming Congo’s security sector.

    U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood, noting that the United States is the largest single financial contributor to MONUSCO, said his government voted for the resolution because it maintains human rights as “a priority task” for the mission.

    In April, east African leaders decided to deploy a regional force to eastern Congo to tackle tensions and violence fueled by the armed groups.

    Wood said the resolution “crucially” urges the regional force to coordinate operations with MONUSCO.

    The U.N. peacekeeping force was the target of deadly summertime protests by residents who said armed groups were still roaming the east and the U.N. force wasn’t protecting them. The peacekeepers were also accused of retaliating against the protesters, sometimes with force.

    After the anti-U.N. protests, president Tshisekedi called a meeting to reassess MONUSCO’s presence. The government called for a review of the transition plan for MONUSCO, and Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula later mentioned 2024 as the goal for the force’s withdrawal.

    The Security Council encouraged the U.N. and Congo’s government, in collaboration with civil society, to “identify concrete and realistic steps to be undertaken, as a matter of priority, to create the minimum security conditions to enable the responsible and sustainable exit of MONUSCO.” It called on MONUSCO and other U.N. staff in Congo to collaborate on priority actions to prepare for the force’s exit.

    Wood, the U.S. envoy, said the U.N., Congolese officials and civil society should agree on any further steps toward MONUSCO’s eventual drawdown, and they “should avoid exposing vulnerable populations to further harm.”

    Congo’s Lutundula urged the council earlier this month to drop the requirement for the government to notify the Security Council sanctions committee of certain weapons purchases, saying the country couldn’t reorganize its military and security forces to address terrorism without the freedom to equip them.

    The second brief resolution lifted this requirement, a decision welcomed by Russia, China and others that had been advocating for ending notifications.

    Gabon’s U.N. Ambassador Michel Biang said ending the requirement “will lift all of the obstacles” Congo faces “to give a proper and effective response to armed groups who are pillaging resources and committing atrocities on civilians in the east.”

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  • ‘Tired of this war’: Congolese cope with M23 rebel violence

    ‘Tired of this war’: Congolese cope with M23 rebel violence

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    BENI, Congo — Kavira Mathe was making dinner for her two sons when bullets began flying. Eastern Congo’s M23 rebels had attacked her village, killing scores of civilians. She and others fled for their lives, she said.

    “I lost several friends,” said Mathe speaking to The Associated Press by phone from Kanyabayonga where she now shelters. Trekking 50 kilometers (some 30 miles) to safety, she saw roads littered with bodies that appeared to have been bound and shot, she said.

    “It was really horrible to see,” said Mathe. “We are tired of this war.”

    Communities in eastern Congo are struggling to survive in the wake of that massacre and others in which at least 130 people were killed by M23 rebels in what the United Nations called “unspeakable violence” against civilians.

    Nearly 26,000 people have been displaced since the attacks at the end of November, according to the U.N. refugee agency, adding to hundreds of thousands who have been uprooted since fighting began between M23 and a coalition of armed civilian protection militia more than a year ago.

    The Associated Press spoke with four people who fled the attacks in North Kivu province. They said M23 shot people indiscriminately, raided shops and chased them from their homes so that people had to hike to safety for hours over rugged terrain and through rivers, without food or water. Many now live in squalid conditions, cramped into small rooms with no money or access to fields for farming.

    The M23 rebel group, largely comprised of Congolese ethnic Tutsis, rose to prominence 10 years ago when its fighters seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city on the border with Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal, which it accuses the Congo government of not implementing. The rebel group was dormant for nearly a decade before resurfacing late last year.

    Since October, M23 violence has surged and the rebels have seized more territory including Rutshuru Center and Kiwanja and destroyed a newly established site for displaced Congolese who had recently returned from Uganda.

    “This situation has directly put thousands of families in very poor living conditions. In the makeshift camps where they live, there is no food, no shelter, no drinking water, no primary healthcare. In short, the families are in unprecedented suffering,” said Francois Kamate, press officer for LUCHA, a local rights group.

    Aid organizations are struggling to cope with the soaring needs. Water is extremely limited in the areas surrounding Goma, contributing to an outbreak of cholera. More than 100 cases have been reported in recent weeks, said Caitlin Brady, Congo director for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

    “The humanitarian community is responding, but we have to have more resources to scale up,” she said. The nearly 400,000 newly displaced people since October are in addition to nearly 5.5 million people already displaced in Congo and the situation is quite desperate, she said.

    Many civilians living under M23 aren’t receiving assistance at all as some of the areas are too hard to access amid the insecurity. Those living under the rebels say they live in terror.

    “The situation is very bad. People are being killed,” said a resident living in Rutshuru Center, a town now occupied by the group. The AP is not using his name to protect his identity. People are living in fear and the rebels are demanding food and money, he said. M23 is also beating and jailing those who take photos in town because they’re worried people are passing on information, he said.

    Efforts at peace talks have so far yielded little. Both sides accuse the other of breaking a fragile cease-fire agreed to last month in Angola. This week, M23 representatives met with regional leaders, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo and the Congolese army, saying it welcomes efforts to resolve the conflict, said Lawrence Kanyuka the group’s political spokesman in a statement.

    Congo’s government blames Rwanda for supporting the M23 with troops and superior firepower, findings backed by the U.N. In a speech to the country this week Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi called out the international community for not doing enough to stem the fighting.

    “The east is plagued by violence because of the presence of many armed groups in almost total indifference to the international community,” he said.

    The continued external support for the rebels, compounded by escalating violence, could threaten regional stability, say conflict analysts.

    “Congo’s militia problem has increasingly turned into a potent regional security threat,” said Trupti Agrawal, senior analyst for East Africa for the Economist Intelligence Unit. “The rebel groups’ ability to escalate attacks despite reinforcements to counterinsurgency operations indicates their strength.”

    ———

    Mednick reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press reporter Jean-Yves Kamale contributed from Kinshasa.

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