March 25 (UPI) -- A Congolese militia ambushed and beheaded 42 police officers in one of the most gruesome incidents of violence in the country recently.

The incident happened outside the city of Kananga, in the central part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Violence in the south central provinces in the Kasai region of the Congo has been simmering for months with a local tribal militia known as Kamuina Nsapu fighting government security forces.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/03/25/42-police-ambushed-beheaded-by-Congolese-militia/2831490470002/

Why Pygmies Are Dealing Weed to Survive

“They forget they have native communities,” says Nicolas Mukumo Mushumbi, one of nine staffers at the Program for the Integration and Development of the Pygmy People, which lobbies for the rights of indigenous people in the Congo and maintains that Pygmies should be allowed to cultivate marijuana. “It was the tradition even before laws were written.”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/democratic-republic-congo-pygmy-grow-deal-weed/

We need some diplomatic Congolese thread here for true giant of Africa

Human rights NGOs beg for renewed Monusco mandate to curb rising DRC violence

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/human-rights-ngos-beg-renewed-monusco-mandate-curb-rising-drc-violence-1613951

Monusco’s behavior has graduated from incompetent to dangerous. “They’re telling lies,” he says. “We’re told that Monusco is aerial bombing M23 positions, then a few hours later the M23 is in Goma.”

African union hmm

Kasai unrest: UN experts 'found dead' in DR Congo

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39418277

Maybe they will blame this on Kamuina nsapu

Funny the two dead had uncover mass graves those of Kamuina nsapu so maybe the Congolese police had a hand on it.

Any ways what a bless day

UN renews smaller DR Congo peacekeeping force

http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1450006/renews-dr-congo-peacekeeping-force


"And Washington, which currently funds more than 28 percent of the peacekeeping budget, is seeking to cut costs and improve the efficiency of the missions."

Washington is not in debt

The Man Who Would Be King of Congo

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/04/the-man-who-would-be-king-of-democratic-republic-of-congo-felix-tshisekedi/


Tshisekedi, who died in Brussels on Feb. 1, was a totemic figure in Congo. In 1982, he founded the oldest and largest opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), in a country that had been a dictatorship since Mobutu Sese Seko seized power 17 years earlier.

What vain ASSHOLE has erase my important post

Congo president announces new prime minister amid tensions

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/congos-prime-minister-steps-down-as-tensions-mount/2017/04/07/9f591ed8-1ba2-11e7-8598-9a99da559f9e_story.html?utm_term=.46cb233d253d

KINSHASA, Congo — President Joseph Kabila named a politician who was recently kicked out of Congo’s main opposition party as the country’s new prime minister on Friday, a move seen as unlikely to placate protests over delayed elections.

Bruno Tshibala, 61, had been a key player in the opposition coalition known as the Rassemblement that signed a political agreement with the ruling party in December.

Not long after that accord was reached, however, Congo’s top opposition politician, Etienne Tshisekedi, died of a pulmonary embolism while seeking medical treatment in Belgium. Thisekedi’s son Felix emerged as a successor, but Tshibala contested his legitimacy as the new UDPS party head and was ultimately excluded from the party.

Followers of the late Tshisekedi are thus considered unlikely to follow to Tshibala.

Trump urged not to 'double the tragedy' of Congo deaths by cutting US aid to UN

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/apr/05/trump-double-tragedy-congo-us-aid-un-investigators-michael-sharp-zaida-catalan

The father of an American whose body was found in a shallow grave in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week has urged the Trump administration not to cut funding for the work for which his peacemaker son gave his life.

Pardon me Congolese don't even want kabila in Congo let alone un workers and monusco SO what is this father of Michael Sharp talking about

Father is an asshole!

"Sixteen hundred is the number of Congolese rebels Michael reportedly convinced to stop fighting. These fathers, uncles, brothers, sons and child soldiers were convinced to give up their fight so that their children could climb out of illiteracy, poverty and war."

Shame on washington Michael the poor kid was on a suicidal job.

Instead of washington sending our michael to persuade ruthless fighters in the heart of the CONGO to stop fights they shouldve instead flew him with a diplomatic visa into Kigali and Kampala to negotiate and maybe use those huge bilateral donations that both receive from washington to get some progressive talks going on for what these Two can do to help solve the problem in Congo

Instead they brainwash our poor Micheal this whole time only for his life to be ended prematurely on Washington lies

Apologies friends I have been so busy that I could not post so if you see that am gone please feel free to make your own post here


Congo’s pricey passport scheme sends millions of dollars offshore

http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/congo-passports/

The impoverished Democratic Republic of Congo has introduced biometric passports costing $185 apiece. But most of that money does not go to the state. Instead millions of dollars go to a private company in the Gulf - and sources say it is owned by a relative of President Joseph Kabila.

"The passport is among the most expensive in the world, costing each Congolese applicant $185. A UK passport costs half as much, and a U.S. passport $110."

"Over time, Congo’s $185 biometric passports could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for LRPS and Semlex while diverting potential revenue away from an unstable and impoverished state. According to the United Nations, the average per capita income in Congo is just $680 a year."

Congo: Desperately Seeking Solutions And Failing

https://www.strategypage.com/qnd/congo/20170505.aspx

"Congo’s governmental predicament continues to smolder. President Kabila is still in office and seems dead set on retaining the presidency. He has already exceeded him constitution-mandated limit of two terms in office. The opposition coalition group, RDC (Rally for Congolese Democracy, also known as Rassemblement), has continued to hold mass protests. However, one scheduled for April 10 failed to attract the large crowds seen in previous demonstrations. That may or may not mean anything, but Kabila supporters noted it. It is now doubtful that there will be new elections by December 2017."

DR Congo: UN peacekeepers face fresh sexual abuse claims

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39745357

A UN peacekeeper in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been suspended over allegations that he fathered a child with an underage girl.

Under Congolese law, anyone under 18 is considered a minor.

The Romanian military observer is among five peacekeepers accused of acts of sexual abuse and exploitation in the first three months of 2017, a senior UN official told the BBC.

UN peacekeeping missions have been hit by a raft of child sex abuse scandals.

Congo Opposition Leader Died 3 Months Ago. He’s Still Waiting to Be Buried.

Joseph Kabila, the increasingly isolated president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, appears determined to silence opponents, even if they are dead.

Étienne Tshisekedi — who for 40 years led the opposition against three dictators, including Mr. Kabila’s father, the previous president, and Mr. Kabila himself — died in February in Belgium. But his body has been stuck in a morgue ever since because of a protracted dispute between his family and the Congolese authorities over where to bury him.

The government’s delaying tactics have raised speculation that it fears that Mr. Tshisekedi’s funeral, were it to be held in the country, would further inflame opposition against Mr. Kabila, who is deeply unpopular.

Congo-Kinshasa: Congo Come Back! Why We're Building a New Political Movement in DRC

http://allafrica.com/stories/201705210032.html

Debrouillez-vous (fend for yourself), Mobutu's defining mantra, characterises the behaviour of so many of Congo's leaders today. With a non-existent government budget, public services have crumbled. The capital Kinshasa, once affectionately named "Kin La Belle", sits in uncollected refuse. And despite the vast resource wealth of our nation, an obscene 9 out of 10 Congolese live on less than $1.25 a day.

As big men come and go, they bring with them their own varieties of corruption, theft and inaction. We have long been robbed by foreign actors from afar, and now we are also robbed from within by our own elites.

DRC: French, 3 Congolese mine workers kidnapped in March freed

http://www.africanews.com/2017/05/28/drc-french-3-congolese-mine-workers-kidnapped-in-march-freed/

Militiamen have a freed French national and three Congolese who were kidnapped in March during an attack on Banro Corp’s Namoya gold mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

Democratic Republic of Congo teeters on edge of 'catastrophe'

"The combination of political uncertainty, predatory state institutions and low commodity prices is contributing to an increasingly toxic situation," the International Crisis Group, an NGO based in Brussels, wrote in a recent commentary

UN: Congo Fighting Keeps 150,000 Children From School

https://www.voanews.com/a/un-congo-fighting-children-no-school/3894807.html

DAKAR, SENEGAL —
Tens of thousands of children in central Democratic Republic of Congo can’t go to school because of the violence between militia fighters and security forces, and attacks against civilians, the United Nations children’s fund (UNICEF) said Friday.

Hundreds of people have been killed and more than a million displaced in Congo’s Greater Kasai region since fighting broke out last August between a local militia and government forces.

I will be taking up this very important topic for my dearest friend and colleague 419forlife.

Congo militia attack babies and toddlers in wave of violence

http://news.sky.com/story/congo-militia-attack-babies-and-toddlers-in-wave-of-violence-10921274

Toddlers have had their limbs cut off, babies have been shot and pregnant women have been sliced open in a blaze of violence in Congo, the UN has said.

The Bana Mura militia, which is backed by the country's government, has been committing horrific, ethnically motivated crimes over several months.

Observers say the Congolese army accompanied the militia during attacks on villages, in which they carried out executions and rape.

The UN's human rights chief Prince Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein has said the situation has got dramatically worse in the past three months.

And he added: "Refugees from multiple villages in the Kamonya territory indicated that the Bana Mura have in the past two months shot dead, hacked or burned to death, and mutilated, hundreds of villagers, as well as destroying entire villages.

More than 3,300 dead in Congo in eight months of violence

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2017-06-20-more-than-3300-dead-in-congo-in-eight-months-of-violence/

Kinshasa — More than 3,000 people have been killed in eight months of spiraling violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled central region of Kasai, a report by the Roman Catholic church says.

According to figures compiled by the church and listed in a report by the papal envoy, a copy of which was seen by AFP on Tuesday, some 3,383 people have died in violence between security forces and a tribal militia.

Angola Shifts Tone on Congo, Deepening Kabila's Isolation

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-06-21/angola-shifts-tone-on-congo-deepening-kabilas-isolation

A change of tone in Angola's relationship with longtime ally Congo has left Congolese President Joseph Kabila more isolated than ever as he clings to power in his vast central African country.

Angola, a regional political and military heavyweight, has on several occasions provided vital support for Kabila, who took over as president of Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001 following the assassination of his father.

But Luanda is frustrated by Kabila's handling of several crises, including his failure to step aside when his mandate ended last December and a conflict in which refugees have poured across his country's long border into Angola.

In December Angola withdrew military trainers it had sent to Congo, where wars at the turn of the century killed millions and sucked in neighboring countries.

That decision raised doubts that Luanda would be ready to bail Kabila out again, and those doubts have been heightened by the change of tone in ties, signaling a big shift in regional power politics.

Foreign Minister Georges Chikoti made clear that patience was running out in May, when he questioned a statement in which Congo said a conflict in the Kasai region bordering Angola had been resolved after several months.

"On one side, we are told that the question of the succession of the kingdom of Kasai has been resolved, on the other, we (still) see people who arrive (in Angola) having been treated badly," he told French broadcaster RFI.

Game changer for Mr. Kabila

Congolese threaten to disrupt Zuma, Kabila meeting in Pretoria

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/congolese-threaten-to-disrupt-zuma-kabila-meeting-in-pretoria-20170623

"Members of the Congolese community in South Africa are threatening to disrupt a state visit by President Joseph Kabila because, they say, he is no longer legally in power in the Democratic Republic of Congo."

"According to a statement from Zuma's office, the two countries "maintain good diplomatic and political relations". The two countries also co-operate in security, energy, infrastructure development, capacity and institutional building, trade, health and transport."

"South Africa is the DRC’s biggest supplier of foreign goods and services, providing more than 20% of the country’s total imports, according to the statement."

"South Africa also contributes troops to peacekeeping in the DRC and the two presidents would "exchange views on the peace, security, stability and development in the continent" with particular focus on the Great Lakes Region."

Interesting

reverendwillie:
Interesting

King Leopold of Belgium, Founder of the Royal Order of Chopping Hands

Hands were chopped off for Rubber, now it is for Coltan (Columbite-Tantalite), a mineral resource used in laptops and cell phones.



In the 23 years (1885-1908) Leopold II ruled the Congo he massacred 10 million Africans by cutting off their hands and genitals, flogging them to death, starving them into forced labour, holding children ransom and burning villages. The ironic part of this story is that Leopold II committed these atrocities by not even setting foot in the Congo.

Read more: http://m.digitaljournal.com/blog/11297#ixzz4l6Ry8cvw

jantavanta:


King Leopold of Belgium, Founder of the Royal Order of Chopping Hands

Hands were chopped off for Rubber, now it is for Coltan (Columbite-Tantalite), a mineral resource used in laptops and cell phones.



In the 23 years (1885-1908) Leopold II ruled the Congo he massacred 10 million Africans by cutting off their hands and genitals, flogging them to death, starving them into forced labour, holding children ransom and burning villages. The ironic part of this story is that Leopold II committed these atrocities by not even setting foot in the Congo.

Read more: http://m.digitaljournal.com/blog/11297#ixzz4l6Ry8cvw

Roll out the red carpet a true Congolese idol