The Supreme Court now takes centre stage as the arbiter of a poll that five opposition candidates have rejected in the DRC's presidential election.

Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi takes on President Joseph Kabila in the DRC's November elections, and already there's blood on the streets.

If international law is to be respected, it cannot be reduced to a form of law that is imposed through the barrel of a gun

Congolese Tutsi rebels and Mai Mai militia clashed on Monday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), breaking a ceasefire signed last week aimed at ending a long-running conflict, the two factions said. Tutsi fighters loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda and Pareco Mai Mai militia blamed each other for the fighting.

The United States on Wednesday welcomed the peace agreement reached in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) strife-torn Kivu provinces and urged all parties to ensure its prompt implementation. "The US welcomes the signing of a peace," White House spokesperson Dana Perino said in a statement.

The Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to extend the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a year and demanded that all militias and armed groups in the volatile east lay down their weapons and start disarming. The council asked the UN force "to attach the highest priority to addressing the crisis".

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is setting aside more than 30 000 square kilometres of rainforest to help protect the endangered bonobo, a great ape that is the most closely related to humans and is found only in this Central African country. The area amounts to just more than 1% of the vast DRC.

Amid rusted hulks of abandoned plants and huge mine craters, the Democratic Republic of Congo's former top copper town Kolwezi is showing signs of a reawakening. The town in the south-eastern copperbelt went into virtual hibernation two decades ago after looting by former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko forced the closure of most of the region's copper mines

A commander of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has surrendered in northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is in the custody of Congolese authorities, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Opiyo Makasi, reported to be the rebel group's operations and logistics commander, gave himself up along with his wife.

The volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo braced for renewed fighting on Sunday after rebels refused to give up arms despite a government ultimatum to disarm or face a fresh offensive. The Congolese government has given forces under renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda until Monday to disarm.