News About Congo

Forced to Flee

What would force you to flee your home?  A Flood, Tornado, Hurricane, Fire, Tsunami, or Nuclear Disaster are items on our list in the developed world.

In Congo, armed miltias are added to the list. 

 

Easy to Understand; Harder to Solve

 

 

The Democratic Republic of Congo sits atop one of the world's most vast deposits of diamonds and gold; yet it is also home to the world's most deadly war. In Rape of a Nation, photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale explores the connection. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/rape-of-a-nation

 

The conflicts in Eastern Congo is not hard to understand.  It's easy.  It is a conflict between armed-miltia fighting over mineral rich territory in Eastern Congo.  It's the Congolese version of street gang fighting over drug territory.

So how to we try to stop gang wars?  You cut off their sale and distribution.  That's the aim of Dodd-Frank Act.  It going to highlight when American corporations who are buying and using illegal Congolese materials.  The Act requires American corporations to identify the source of gold, coltan, and other raw minerals.  Will this work?  Maybe, but it is better than doing nothing!

 

Hutu Rebels Resume Their Attacks

Hutu rebels strike back after Rwandan army return home.  It did not take the long for the Hutu rebels to resume their attacks.

 

Hutu rebel attacks displace 30,000 in DR Congo: UN

Renewed attacks by Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Nord-Kivu province have left nearly 30,000 people displaced in a fortnight, the UN refugees agency said Friday.

The attacks mark a retaliation by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebels after a joint offensive by the Congolese and Rwandan forces to disarm the Hutu militia.

"Newly displaced families in the Lubero area report that FDLR raids increased during the first half of March, along with growing human rights violations," said Ron Redmond, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Further south in the Nord-Kivu town of Masisi, the FLDR killed at least three civilians on Sunday.

Local authorities meanwhile report that "villagers are fleeing in all directions following FDLR attacks on 16 March" on a town about 75 kilometres (45 miles) south of Masisi, said Redmond.

Since mid-January over 160,000 civilians have been displaced by the FDLR attacks, said the UNHCR.

The UN on Wednesday condemned both the army and rebels for atrocities against local civilians in territories under their control.