Democratic Republic of the Congo News

KINSHASA, Congo, JULY 3, 2009 .- The international Caritas organization has launched an appeal for $12 million to give basic care to some 400,000 displaced people in Congo, particularly rape victims.

TIFIE Humanitarian announces promotions to insure continued growth and success. Mr. Andrews will serve in the capacity of Chief Development Officer while Mr.

Military operations in eastern and northern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo have not only failed to protect civilians from rebel retaliatory attacks but have joined at times in attacking and raping civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a release Thursday.

Rights groups say they have received many reports of intelligence agents abusing detainees.

A clinical trial is being launched in three African countries of a drug that could eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa.

Kanyabayonga, DR Congo - Rwandan Hutu rebels burnt down around 130 village homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an army officer said on Thursday, although a politician said locals blamed the army.

Women victims of mass rape during an attempted escape from at a prison in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, have spoken to IWPR of the incident, which provoked concern from the United Nations and human rights campaigners.

Continuing clashes between armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have forced civilians to abandon their homes in North Kivu and affected aid operations, a UN official said.

Former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba is due to appear on Monday before the International Criminal Court, where he faces war crimes charges of rape, torture and pillaging during civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Young female recruits were frequently raped by commanders in Thomas Lubanga's militia, a former soldier in the Union of Congolese Patriots, UPC, told the court this week.

Congolese politician Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is due to appear before the International Criminal Court in The Hague Monday afternoon for a procedural hearing about his pre-trial detention.

WASHINGTON: Pakistan, split in the middle with terrorist attacks and facing an economic crisis, remains among the top 10 failed states, says an index prepared by the renowned Foreign Policy journal.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo called on the Government to take urgent measures to improve prison security and improve conditions for inmates, after several women were assaulted during an attempted escape from Goma's central prison last night.

War and armed violence is taking an alarming toll on civilians in conflict-affected countries across the globe, according to new findings published by the International Committee of the Red Cross today .

Twenty female detainees in the central prison in Goma, a large town in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo , were raped during a recent riot, officials have said.

Pay delays, indiscipline and logistical problems threaten the army's capacity to defeat Rwandan and Ugandan rebels and reestablish peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, analysts say.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said he was "deeply distressed" by the rape and assault of about 20 female inmates during a breakout attempt from Goma's central prison in Democratic Republic of Congo .

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his deep distress at the rape of some 20 female inmates during an attempted escape from a prison in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo , and called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Rebel activity in parts of eastern and northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has forced the postponement of secondary school leaving exams for hundreds of children, officials have said.

Rioting inmates raped around 20 female prisoners during a failed prison break in Democratic Republic of Congo's violence-ravaged east, the country's U.N. peacekeeping mission said.