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/ 4 March 2008

DRC rebels rejoin truce panel after massacre row

Congolese rebels loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda have said they will return to a ceasefire commission monitoring a rocky January peace deal. The United Nations and Western governments brokered the January deal in the hope of establishing a lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s turbulent east.

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/ 23 February 2008

Nkunda deals new blow to DRC ceasefire

A shaky peace deal in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took another hit on Friday when renegade general Laurent Nkunda said his group would no longer participate in daily ceasefire meetings. He said he had taken the decision after the United Nations accused forces loyal to him of massacring at least 30 villagers.

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/ 14 February 2008

Clashes break out in troubled DRC region

Fresh clashes were reported on Wednesday between armed groups in a troubled region in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in breach of a three-week-old ceasefire. Soldiers loyal to rebel General Laurent Nkunda and Mai Mai militiamen exchanged gunfire in towns north-west of Goma, the capital of Nord-Kivu province, a local official said.

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/ 28 January 2008

DRC ceasefire broken as rebels and militia clash

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.

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/ 23 January 2008

DRC rebels and govt sign peace accord

Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda signed a peace pact on Wednesday with the government and Mai Mai militia to end fighting in the east of the country. Nkunda’s representative, Kambasu Ngeve, signed the document at a ceremony in the eastern town of Goma, which was attended by President Joseph Kabila.

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/ 21 January 2008

DRC govt, rebels to sign ceasefire

Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) government and warring rebel and militia factions will sign a deal on Tuesday to end fighting in the country’s conflict-torn east, government officials and diplomats said on Monday. The agreement, which will include a ceasefire, was announced following more than two weeks of talks.

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/ 21 January 2008

DRC peace conference prolonged amid dissent

A conference aimed at ending conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was prolonged on Monday as rival sides sought agreement, organisers said. The gathering at a university in Goma, the main town of Nord-Kivu province near some of the conflict zones, was due to end on Monday, but its president said another day would be needed.

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/ 11 January 2008

DRC rebels rejoin peace conference

Tutsi rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday rejoined a peace conference aimed at ending long-running conflict in the east, a day after suspending their participation over security concerns. The rebels’ leader, renegade General Laurent Nkunda, told Reuters he was ready if necessary to take part in the meeting.

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/ 23 December 2007

DRC violence fuels surge in child abduction

Fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this month has led to a surge in child abductions by armed groups who force minors to fight, carry ammunition or become their sex slaves, Save the Children said on Monday. Some children were kept captive in small holes in the ground as punishment or after being captured by enemy groups.

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/ 23 November 2007

Rebels, army clash in eastern DRC

Explosions and machine-gun fire echoed through the hills of east Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday, as government troops battled rebels for a third day amid a worsening humanitarian crisis that has displaced nearly 200 000 people in the past few months, a United Nations military spokesperson said.

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/ 22 November 2007

UN to help DRC disarm dissidents by force

United Nations peacekeepers will help the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) army disarm eastern dissident groups by force in violence-plagued North Kivu province, UN and Congolese commanders said. Army soldiers and fighters loyal to renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda clashed again on Thursday a few kilometres from Rutshuru.

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/ 13 November 2007

Congo refugees flee after attack near camp

Thousands of refugees poured out of camps in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s violent North Kivu province on Tuesday after the army said Tutsi-dominated insurgents attacked its positions. Army troops repelled the dawn raid on their positions near Mugunga camp, killing 27 fighters loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda.

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/ 13 November 2007

DRC refugees flee camp after attack

Thousands of refugees fled camps in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s violent Nord-Kivu province on Tuesday after the army said Tutsi-dominated insurgents attacked its positions nearby. ”There’s a massive movement of displaced towards Goma,” said the director of the World Food Programme in Goma.

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/ 5 November 2007

DRC police kill child in refugee food protest

Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu province opened fire on refugees during a violent protest over food distributions on Monday, killing a child and wounding 11 civilians. Villagers driven from their homes three weeks ago by fighting between government soldiers and rebels had erected barricades in the town of Kiwanja.

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/ 25 October 2007

Amnesty: State agents linked to DRC killings

Human rights group Amnesty International accused state security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo of systematic torture and killings in a report published on Thursday. Amnesty blamed two government security forces — the special services police and the republican guard — for attacks on opponents of President Joseph Kabila.

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/ 21 October 2007

DRC army warns militia to disarm, thousands flee

Democratic Republic of Congo’s army on Sunday gave pro-government militia fighters 48 hours to disarm or face military action as thousands more people fled renewed fighting in the eastern province of North Kivu. Explosions and gunfire rang out before dawn in the hills around Rugari, a town of tin-roofed houses near the Rwandan and Ugandan borders.