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"After 25 years of presence, MONUSCO will definitively leave the DRC no later than the end of 2024,” Keita said at a media briefing in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. The end of the mission will not be “the end of the United Nations” in the country, she added. The U.N. and Congolese officials worked together to produce a disengagement plan for “a progressive, responsible, honorable and exemplary withdrawal of MONUSCO,” Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula said. Modalities have also been set for “the gradual transfer of tasks from MONUSCO to Congolese government,” Lutundula added. The violence is occasioned by rampant mass killings and has displaced nearly 7 million people.

Persons: Bintou Keita, MONUSCO, ” Keita, Christophe Lutundula, ” Lutundula, —, “ Organizations: Central, United Nations, East Locations: KINSHASA, Congo, Congolese, Central African, South Kivu, North Kivu, Ituri, Kinshasa, MONUSCO, East African

☆ Gold holds ground ahead of U.S. inflation test
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A technician cleans impurities from melted gold bars at Primera Gold's laboratory in Bukavu, South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, May 12, 2023. Gold prices consolidated in a tight range on Thursday, hovering close to a near seven-month high, as investors awaited a key inflation print to gauge whether interest rate cuts in the U.S. would come sooner than expected. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $2,041.76 per ounce by 0543 GMT, after hitting its highest since May 5 on Wednesday, and was poised for its second straight monthly gain. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.2% to $2,042.40 per ounce. Spot silver fell 0.2% to $24.95 per ounce.

Persons: Bullion, Yeap Jun Rong, Jerome Powell Organizations: Primera Gold's, U.S, Federal, Traders Locations: Bukavu, South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, U.S

☆ Congo opposition party says activist killed in violence at election rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKINSHASA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A Congolese youth activist was killed on Tuesday by stones pelted during an opposition campaign rally in the east-central city of Kindu, the party of presidential candidate Moise Katumbi said. "This violence ... caused the tragic death of Mr Dido Kakisingi," the party said in a statement. Kakisingi, a lawyer and father of six, was the head of a political youth league in Maniema province that supports Katumbi, the party said. They didn't even send the police to secure us," said Seth Kikuni, one of the opposition candidates backing Katumbi. The CENI election commission has promised a fair and well-run election, but all of the opposition candidates have expressed concerns about potential electoral fraud.

Persons: Moise Katumbi, Arlette, Mr Dido Kakisingi, Seth Kikuni, Stephane Kamundala, Felix Tshisekedi, Katumbi, Martin Fayulu, Denis Mukwege, Ange Kasongo, Sonia Rolley, Alessandra Prentice, Susan Fenton Organizations: Democratic, REUTERS, Rights, Congolese, United, Reuters, Peace, Thomson Locations: Kitutu, Mwenga, South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of, Congo, Rights KINSHASA, Kindu, Maniema, Africa's, United States

Among his sexual contacts, five later tested positive for mpox, WHO said. “This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa,” Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups, said. The agency described the recent mpox outbreak as “unusual” and said it highlighted the risk the disease could spread widely among sexual networks. Those figures are roughly double the mpox toll in 2020, making it Congo's biggest-ever outbreak, WHO said. “Sexual transmission of monkeypox is likely established here, but (gay) communities are hiding it because of the draconian (anti-LGBTQ+) laws in several countries,” he added.

Persons: Oyewale, Mpox, Virologist Tomori, ”, Tomori Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Congo, Belgium, Africa, Nigerian, Europe, Kinshasa, South Kivu, North America

☆ Conflict uproots record 6.9 million people in Congo -IOM
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Paul... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreJOHANNESBURG, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Conflict and escalating violence have uprooted a record 6.9 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, mostly in the east of the country, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Monday. Years of rebel conflict and recurrent natural disasters have helped fuel one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. Most of those forced to flee their homes live in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika, according to the data collected by the United Nations. In North Kivu alone, up to one million people have been displaced due the ongoing conflict with a Tutsi-led rebel group M23, IOM said. The most recent escalation of the conflict has uprooted more people in less time like rarely seen before," said Fabien Sambussy, IOM's head of mission in Congo.

Persons: Paul, Fabien Sambussy, Anait, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: United Nations Organization Stabilization, Democratic, REUTERS, International Organization for Migration, United Nations, IOM, Thomson Locations: Democratic Republic of, Congo, Djugu's, Ituri's province, Democratic Republic of Congo, JOHANNESBURG, North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika, Congolese

GOMA, Congo (AP) — The United Nations has suspended and detained eight peacekeepers in eastern Congo over allegations of sexual exploitation, a U.N. official said. Their mission is to protect civilians, deter armed groups, and build the capacity of state institutions and services. Political Cartoons View All 1207 ImagesDespite the presence of the peacekeepers in Congo for decades, the conflict has continued and is increasing. Accusations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in Congo are not new and in the past have been considered the epicenter of the U.N.'s sexual abuse crisis. In 2017, of the 2,000 sexual abuse and exploitation complaints made against the U.N. worldwide over the past 12 years, more than 700 occurred in Congo.

Persons: ___ Kamale, Sam Mednick Organizations: United Nations, Associated Press Locations: GOMA, Congo, South Africa, Beni, North Kivu, Fizi, South Kivu, Kinshasa, Cotonou, Benin

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The humanitarian situation in conflict-wracked eastern Congo has deteriorated alarmingly in the past 18 months with 8 million people in urgent need of assistance and women and girls subjected to sexual violence on a massive scale -- just in three provinces, a senior U.N. official said Tuesday. M23 rose to prominence in 2012 when its fighters seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city on the border with Rwanda. Recently, attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces, which is believed to have ties to the Islamic State extremist group, have also spiked along with intercommunal violence. The scale of suffering and insufficient funding have left humanitarian workers in the impossible situation every day of deciding whether to prioritize water, shelter or medical support for the constant stream of newly displaced people. And one result of the overwhelming needs is that thousands and thousands of children aren’t able to go to school, she said.

Persons: Edem Wosornu, “, ”, Wosornu, Gabriella Waaijman, and.one, aren’t, Waaijman, ” Waaijman Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Allied Democratic Forces, State, London, International Locations: Congo, U.N, North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Rwanda, Goma, Congo’s

☆ Seven children killed in fire at Congolese camp for displaced flood victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, Aug 19 (Reuters) - At least seven children were killed in eastern Congo on Saturday after a fire broke out at camp for people displaced by flooding, local official Thomas Bakenga said. The children killed in the fire were aged between one and five, while four adults were in a critical condition in hospital, Kalehe territorial administrator Bakenga told Reuters. The deaths bring further tragedy to a community still grieving the loss of at least 460 people in the floods. Overall, close to 9,000 people were impacted by the disaster, which saw flood waters bury buildings in mud and cut off roads. Reporting by Crispin Kyala; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: BUKAVU, Thomas Bakenga, Bakenga, Crispin Kyala, Alessandra Prentice, Alison Williams Organizations: Democratic, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Kalehe, Bushushu, South Kivu

☆ Gold subdued on dollar strength as markets await economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A technician cleans impurities from melted gold bars at Primera Gold's laboratory in Bukavu, South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, May 12, 2023. Gold prices edged lower on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar climbed, while investors looked forward to key economic data this week for signs on how long the interest rates could keep rising to quell sticky inflation. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,961.49 per ounce by 0343 GMT, while U.S. gold futures dropped 0.5% to $1,961.10 per ounce. Gold prices ended July 2.3% higher, the biggest monthly rise in four months on expectations that an end to the rate-hiking cycle by global central banks was nearing. This is why the central banks are sticking with the data-dependent mantra," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Nicholas Frappell, Austan Goolsbee, Tim Waterer, Waterer Organizations: Primera Gold's, U.S, ABC Refinery, Chicago Federal, KCM Trade Locations: Bukavu, South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chicago

☆ A week after Congo floods, volunteers dig through debris for bodies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUSHUSHU, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 12 (Reuters) - With shovels, sticks and bare hands, Red Cross volunteers struggled to clear caked mud from around a body half buried in a landslide in Bushushu village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A week after torrential rains triggered deadly floods, the workers said they were exhausted and running out of equipment. But they keep finding corpses under piles of debris, buried in hillsides, floating in waterways and the nearby lake. It's a serious problem," Désiré Yuma Machumu, head of the Red Cross in Congo's South Kivu province, said. On Thursday, Reuters watched the volunteers painstakingly recover 17 bodies.

A fresh downpour loosened the earth on a hillside above a village in Vuveyi Lac area, burying the victims as they slept in their houses below, said Alain Kiwewa, Lubero's military administrator. Repeated recent downpours have also raised the water table in the broader region, increasing the likelihood of flooding, said meteorology and hydrology engineer Theodore Lokakao Ilemba. "It's everywhere in the Congo and in Rwanda, it worsens (the impact of) the rainfall and all pre-existing problems like water drainage and land use," he said. Rains also triggered flooding and landslides in neighbouring Rwanda last week, killing 130 people and destroying more than 5,000 homes. Writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Over 5,500 still missing in flood-hit east Congo: local official
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoKALEHE, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9 (Reuters) - More than 5,500 people are still unaccounted for in an area in east Democratic of Congo where floods killed more than 400 people last week, a local official said on Tuesday, as shaken survivors waited for food aid. Kalehe administrator Thomas Bakenga Zirimwabagabo said on Tuesday that 411 bodies had been found so far and that at least 5,525 people were still missing. A government delegation arrived in the area on Monday evening and was expected to bring food and tents for the survivors. Government officials have told humanitarian workers to stop mass burials and wait for coffins to be delivered to the area. Reporting by Djaffar Sabiti Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CNN —At least 400 people have died after floods and landslides hit the Democratic Republic of Congo’s South Kivu province last week, officials told CNN. “We have 401 deaths in Bushushu and Nyamukubi villages in Kalehe territory,” Kasi said. Congolese Red Cross volunteers and residents of Nyamukubi wrap in blankets the bodies of people who died in heavy flooding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 6, 2023. People are crossing the lake, another danger.”This aerial photograph taken on May 6, 2023 shows a landslide that engulfed Nyamukubi village, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. People walk next to a house destroyed by the floods in the village of Nyamukubi, South Kivu province, in Congo, Saturday, May 6, 2023.

☆ ‘Catastrophic’ Congo Flooding Kills More Than 400 People
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The death toll of last week’s deadly floods and landslides in the Democratic Republic of Congo climbed to more than 400 people, the government said on Monday, as rescue workers and family members searched through debris and mud for victims and survivors of the disaster. The flooding began on Thursday, as heavy rains pushed rivers to overflow their banks, causing rushing water and mud to flow into villages, washing away homes and ravaging farmland. “The situation is catastrophic,” said Remy Kasindi, a representative for a civil society group in South Kivu, where the floods took place. “It’s a humanitarian crisis that troubles our consciences.”Mr. Kasindi said that survivors were looking for their family members in the mud, and that some bodies were pulled from nearby Lake Kivu.

☆ Death toll from Congo floods rises to 401: governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 8 (Reuters) - The death toll from flooding that hit two villages in east Democratic Republic of Congo last week has risen to 401, provincial governor Theo Ngwabidje Kasi said on Monday. Kasi told Reuters by message on Monday that the death toll now stood at 401. He did not provide any other details. The central government has sent a delegation to Kalehe and declared Monday a day of national mourning. Reporting by Sonia Rolley Writing by Sofia Christensen Editing by Alexander WinningOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Corpses pile up after nearly 200 killed in Congo floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The rainfall in Kalehe territory in South Kivu province caused rivers to overflow on Thursday, inundating the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi. South Kivu governor Théo Ngwabidje Kasi put the death toll at 176 and said that others were still missing. Floods and landslides are not uncommon in South Kivu, which shares a border with Rwanda. Heavy rains also triggered flooding and landslides in Rwanda this week, killing 130 people and destroying more than 5,000 homes. The last incident of a similar scale in Congo occurred in October 2014, when heavy rainfall destroyed over 700 homes.

☆ Trapped miners in east Congo tumble out of rubble intact in viral video
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The video shows a man precariously perched on the side of a steep slope of rubble, frantically digging with a spade while a group of other men stand in a large circle around him, watching. The rescuer is then seen redoubling his efforts, forsaking the spade to dig through the rubble with his bare hands. Another miner soon appears, then another, and within two minutes a total of nine men have come out alive and well. Two miners died in a similar incident at a nearby informal digging site in early March. Reporting by Sonia Rolley; Editing by Sofia Christensen, Estelle Shirbon and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vaccine-derived poliovirus detected in Burundi, Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Health officials in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have detected cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus, the World Health Organization and Global Polio Eradication Initiative said. Five other samples from environmental surveillance of waste water confirmed the presence of circulating poliovirus type 2 in Burundi, the WHO added in a statement. Circulating poliovirus type 2 is different to wild poliovirus, with infections occurring when a weakened strain of poliovirus contained in the oral polio vaccine circulates among under-immunized populations for long periods. The detections are significant as they are the first linked with the use of a new vaccine, the novel oral poliomyelitis vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), which was developed specifically to reduce this risk. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said in a statement that circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was found in six children in the DRC's eastern Tanganyika and South Kivu provinces.

☆ African artists show support for east Congo conflict at music festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Crispin Kyalangalilwa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Revellers attend the 9th edition of the AMANI festival with the aim of conveying messages of peace, entrepreneurship and environmental protection at the Athenee d'Ibanda in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo February 10, 2023. REUTERS/Crispin KyalangalilwaBUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Artists from across Africa performed at the "Amani" festival in eastern Democratic Republic to show support for victims of conflict despite growing insecurity in the area. "Our mission is to be there with you," he told a jubilant crowd in the city of Bukavu during the event. The Amani festival, which means "peace" in Swahili, usually takes place in Goma, capital of North Kivu province. Reporting by Crispin Kyalangalilwa; Writing by Sonia Rolley; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Alison Williams;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Landslide kills at least 8 people in eastern Congo
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 31 (Reuters) - A landslide crushed at least eight people and seriously injured nine others near an artisanal mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, a local official told Reuters on Saturday. Landslides are relatively common in the hilly slopes of eastern Congo where heavy rains can saturate and loosen soil. But they are more likely to occur if soil has been disturbed by mining, tree-felling or construction. In December, intense rains in Congo's capital Kinshasa caused flooding and landslides that killed around 170 people. Reporting by Crispin Kyalangalilwa; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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