Deaths from Congo floods approach 400 as search continues
May 7, 2023 GMTGOMA, Congo (AP) — The death toll from floods in eastern Congo has almost doubled, reaching close to 400 people as of Sunday, according to a local official.
At least 60 bodies found in eastern Congo
April 26, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 60 bodies were discovered in several villages in eastern Congo's North Kivu province, authorities said Wednesday.
Residents from Kashali and Kazaroho villages in Rutshuru territory were killed over several days by rebels from the M23 group, said Isaac Kibira, a deputy to the governor of the Bwito area.
Boat sinking on lake between Zambia and Congo leaves 15 dead
April 21, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Fourteen people drowned in a lake on the border between Zambia and Congo when the boat they were taking across sank earlier this week, Congolese lawmakers said Friday.
The boat passengers died on Lake Mwero as they were leaving Chinsamba island, according to Abraham Kitanika Soriano, a member of Congo's parliament.
Life sentences in Congo for killing of Italian ambassador
April 7, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Six men in Congo were sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the 2021 murder of Italy's ambassador and two others.
The sentence was announced by a military tribunal in the capital, Kinshasa, following a six-month trial.
More than 30 civilians killed by Islamic extremists in Congo
April 6, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — More than 30 people were killed in a string of attacks by extremist rebels in eastern Congo, a local human rights organization said.
Men, women and children were killed by the Allied Democratic Forces — which has ties to the Islamic State group — between the Irumu and Mambasa territories in Congo's Ituri province, Christophe Munyanderu, coordinator for the Convention for the Respect of Human Rights, told reporters.
Rebels kill at least 17 people in troubled eastern Congo
March 27, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 17 people were killed by rebels in eastern Congo, local authorities said on Monday.
The people were abducted while driving on a road and then killed by the CODECO militia group in Djugu territory in Ituri province over the weekend, Col.
Former rebel leader is named Congo’s new Defense Minister
March 24, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo's former rebel leader jailed by the International Criminal Court, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has been appointed Congo's Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle.
At least 19 people killed in Congo by suspected extremists
March 12, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Rebels in eastern Congo killed at least 19 people and set fire to a health center and houses, authorities reported Sunday.
Gunmen suspected of being part of the Allied Democratic Forces, a militia with links to the Islamic State group, attacked civilians in Kirindera town, Carly Nzanzu, the former governor of North Kivu province, said in an interview with state media.
IS group says it killed more than 35 ‘Christians’ in Congo
March 11, 2023 GMTDAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Islamic State group has issued a statement claiming responsibility for killing more than 35 people and wounding dozens in eastern Congo.
In the statement, posted Friday by Aamaq, the militants' news agency, it said it killed “Christians” with guns and knives and destroyed their property in Mukondi village in North Kivu province.
Eastern Congo hit by rebel attacks; 45 civilians killed
March 10, 2023 GMTGOMA, Congo (AP) — The death toll from several attacks this week by extremist rebels in eastern Congo has risen to at least 45 people, local officials said on Friday.
Dozens of people were killed by rebels using machetes over two days when rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, a militia with links to the Islamic State group, killed civilians in several villages in North Kivu province, said Saidi Balikwisha, the province's deputy.
At least 36 people killed by extremists in eastern Congo
March 10, 2023 GMTGOMA, Congo (AP) — At Least 36 people were killed by extremists in conflict-riddled eastern Congo, the military said on Thursday. The Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel militia with links to the Islamic State group, killed civilians in Mukondi village in North Kivu province, said Congo army spokesman in Beni town, Capt.
Congo leader urges Macron to back sanctions against Rwanda
March 4, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi urged visiting French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday to pursue international sanctions against Rwanda for its alleged military support to the M23 rebellion.
Rebels capture more ground in Congo as fighting intensifies
February 24, 2023 GMTGOMA, Congo (AP) — A rebel group linked with neighboring Rwanda seized more territory Friday, threatening supply routes to the regional capital, as fighting intensified in conflict-ridden east Congo, local residents and aid workers said.
Rwanda says Congolese soldiers attack its border army post
February 15, 2023 GMTKIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda’s army said its troops briefly exchanged fire with soldiers from Congo early Wednesday, in a new spike in tension between the neighbors who have accused each other of supporting armed rebel groups on the other side of the border.
Regional leaders urge immediate cease-fire in eastern Congo
February 4, 2023 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Regional heads of state have called for an immediate cease-fire by all parties in eastern Congo, where tensions have grown amid talk of war as Congo and neighboring Rwanda trade allegations of backing armed rebels.
Pope urges Congo youth to reject corruption and they respond
February 2, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis led Congo’s young people in a rousing denunciation of political corruption on Thursday, turning an otherwise scripted meeting with church catechists into a rally that shook the capital’s sports stadium.
In Congo, activists look to Pope to boost forest protections
February 1, 2023 GMTLocal climate activists in Congo are hoping Pope Francis' visit will help spur action to protect the country's rainforest from oil and gas interests.
‘Hands off Africa!’: Pope blasts foreign plundering of Congo
January 31, 2023 GMTKINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis demanded Tuesday that foreign powers stop plundering Africa’s natural resources for the “poison of their own greed” as he arrived in Congo to a raucous welcome by Congolese grateful he was focusing the world’s attention on their forgotten plight.
Survivors of conflict to meet Pope Francis in Congo
January 30, 2023 GMTGOMA, Congo (AP) — It took years for Marie Louise Wambale to re-establish her life after fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army forced her to flee with almost nothing more than a decade ago.
Fighting intensifies in eastern Congo, displacing hundreds
January 26, 2023 GMTGOMA, Congo (AP) — Fighting intensified around a town in eastern Congo Thursday as a rebel group seeking to expand the territory it controls increased pressure on government troops defending it, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee their homes.
Rwanda fires on Congo military aircraft accused of violation
January 25, 2023 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Rwanda has fired on a Congolese military aircraft it alleges violated its airspace in a new escalation of tensions between the neighbors that has set off alarm across central Africa.
Pope, ahead of Congo visit, sends prayers for church bombing
January 17, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Tuesday sent his condolences to the victims of a bombing on a Pentecostal church in eastern Congo, an attack claimed by Islamic militants two weeks before the pontiff is due to arrive in the country.
Congo’s army says church bomb kills 10, extremists suspected
January 15, 2023 GMTGOMA, Congo (AP) — A suspected extremist attack at a church in eastern Congo killed at least 10 people and wounded more than three dozen, according to the country's army.
A group linked to Islamic extremists was suspected of being responsible for a bomb that went off in the Pentecostal church in the North Kivu province town of Kasindi, military spokesperson Anthony Mwalushayi told The Associated Press by phone.
131 civilians killed by M23 rebels in eastern Congo, says UN
December 8, 2022 GMTBENI, Congo (AP) — Arbitrarily shooting, stabbing, raping and abducting people, rebels in eastern Congo have killed at least 131 people and inflicted “unspeakable violence” against civilians, says a new U.N.