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/ 29 September 2004
Kenya is pushing for an international ban on trade in lion trophies and skins, arguing that the number of the animals has declined sharply over the years as a result of hunting, loss of habitat and lack of prey. ”The number of lions in Africa has declined by between 30% and 50% in the past 30 years,” said Edward Indakwa, spokesperson for the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Relatives and Muslim leaders appealed to Iraqi militants on Thursday to release three Kenyan truck drivers they took hostage, saying the men are good Muslims who went to Iraq to earn a living for their families. A militant group calling itself The Holders of the Black Banners announced on Wednesday it has taken the men hostage.
United Nations peacekeepers took control of the strategic Congolese city of Bukavu on Friday as renegade soldiers withdrew and President Joseph Kabila attempted to calm the nation after the largest and most violent protests since he took office. A UN commander in Bukavu confirmed the pullout had begun on Thursday night.
Dissident troops gather in DRC
Kinshasa paralysed by lack of transport
Renegade commanders in the Democratic Republic of Congo pledged on Thursday to withdraw their troops from a strategic city and allow United Nations peacekeepers to take control, potentially defusing a crisis that threatened to plunge the Central African country back into civil war.
Heavy fighting broke out early on Wednesday as Congolese troops and fighters loyal to a renegade commander battled for control of the centre of the troubled Congolese city of Bukavu, residents said. United Nations peacekeepers were blocking the advance into Bukavu of the bulk of troops loyal to Nkunda, UN spokesperson Sebastien Lapierre said.
Congolese soldiers fought troops loyal to a renegade commander near the eastern town of Bukavu on Tuesday, breaking a shaky ceasefire and spurring United Nations peacekeepers to try to negotiate an end to the violence, a UN spokesperson said. Fighting broke out again on Tuesday near the airport, which is controlled by UN forces.
Gold dealers buy flakes of the precious metal from small-time miners. Hunters peddle monkey meat to mothers with families to feed. And women hawk everything from soap, to vegetables, to pirated CDs. Nestled in the corner of a muddy camp for thousands displaced by tribal fighting, this bustling market is an unlikely success story in a land devastated by decades of ruinous dictatorships and civil war.
Fertile soil, lush green hills and rivers running with gold make Ituri province one of the potentially richest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
When Francois Amani goes fishing, he always takes a radio — his sole source of companionship during long nights spent earning a living on the windy waters of Lake Kivu.