Reuters AlertNet Lite - CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 407 for 10-16 November 2007

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 407 for 10-16 November 2007

16 Nov 2007 14:34:02 GMT
Source: IRIN

NAIROBI, 16 November 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

DRC-RWANDA: New pact on armed groups in the Kivus hailed DRC-UGANDA: Cholera prompts evacuation of Lake Albert island DRC: IDPs go back to camps as fears of renewed North Kivu violence die down DRC: Ex-militiaman jailed for life for murder of UN observers BURUNDI: Government of consensus formed

See Also

DRC-RWANDA: Putting the past behind them – former child soldiers prepare to go home [http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=75258 ]

CONGO: Conflict leaves legacy of widespread addiction

[http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=75260 ]

DRC-RWANDA: New pact on armed groups in the Kivus hailed

Analysts have welcomed the latest in a series of agreements between the governments of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) aimed at resolving the perennial threat to regional stability posed by the armed groups in eastern DRC.

DRC's two Kivu provinces are swarming with a variety of such groups, including remnants of Rwandan Hutu army units (ex-Forces armées rwandaise, FAR) and Interahamwe militias who fled across the border after carrying out much of the killing during Rwanda's 1994 genocide; former members of defunct Congolese rebel groups supported by Rwanda during DRC's 1998-2002 civil war, who have resisted reintegration into a new national army; and pro-DRC civil defence brigades loosely grouped as Mayi Mayi.

Fighting between one group of recalcitrant rebels, led by General Laurent Nkunda, and the regular army has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in North Kivu, with 370,000 civilians displaced since December. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75301

DRC-UGANDA: Cholera prompts evacuation of Lake Albert island

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have ordered the partial evacuation of a disputed island in Lake Albert, where health workers are unable to tackle a cholera outbreak partly because of security concerns linked to the discovery of oil.

"We have just ordered the section head and police on the ground to evacuate children and the elderly" from Rukwanzi island, which lies on a poorly-defined border separating DRC and Uganda, said Dieudonne Rwabona, acting district commissioner in DRC's northeastern region of Ituri.

Since 5 October police on the island have reported 57 cases of cholera and three fatalities. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=75276 ]

DRC: IDPs go back to camps as fears of renewed North Kivu violence die down

People have been returning to camps for displaced people (IDPs) in the DRC's North Kivu province after fresh fighting near the main town of Goma prompted up to 40,000 to flee. Some IDPs said looters had ransacked their shelters while they were away, taking what little possessions they owned.

Panic spread through the camps on 13 November when the sound of heavy gunfire ricocheted through the mountains behind Mugunga, 15km outside Goma, where about 38,000 IDPs were housed. Another 2,000 people fled a third camp in Bulengo, 5km from Mugunga. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=75321 ]

DRC: Ex-militiaman jailed for life for murder of UN observers

A court in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has found a former militiaman guilty of the 2003 murder of two UN military observers and sentenced him to life in prison.

Agenonga Uforunyu, alias Kwisha, who fought with the Fronts des Nationalistes Intégrationnistes (FNI), an armed group in Ituri, was sentenced by a court in the regional capital, Bunia, on 12 November. He was found guilty of shooting to death Major Saswat Oran, a Jordanian serving with the UN mission in DRC, MONUC, and his Malawian colleague, Captain David Banda. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75295

BURUNDI: Government of consensus formed

Political leaders in Burundi have welcomed the formation of a new more inclusive cabinet as an important step towards bringing the country's last active rebel group into a stalled peace process.

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza reshuffled the cabinet on 14 November to make room for members of two main opposition parties, the Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi and the Union pour le Progrès National, as the country's constitution stipulates. Both had been boycotting parliament since July, demanding that the previous cabinet be sacked. Full report http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=75323

Email this article Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.

Reset map

• Burundi profile
· View map

• Congo (DR) profile
· View map

• Rwanda profile
· View map

• Uganda profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

• IRC BUILDS HEALTH CENTERS IN EBOLA-AFFECTED PROVINCE IN CONGO
IRC - UK

• MAG trains FARDC following Camp Ngashi explosion
MAG - UK

• Life saving presents for Christmas
Christian Aid - UK

• RURAL AFRICA NOT FIT FOR CHILDREN
Plan Asia Regional Office (ARO)

• NGOs carry Flame of Hope to Rural Africa
Plan Asia Regional Office (ARO)

MORE >>

Latest news

• CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 407 for 10-16 November 2007

• Rwandan officials complete probe into France

• Three die in Uganda as floods submerge slum

• Former Rwanda mayor jailed by genocide tribunal

• BURUNDI: Government of consensus formed

MORE >>

Last updated:Fri Nov 16 14:37:09 2007