African Quakes Kill at Least 40

Mission provides logistical support to brutal national army

(NEWSER) - Women and children beaten to death with clubs, hacked up with machetes—or, if they're "lucky," gang-raped and left alive. Such shocking acts are sadly commonplace in the conflict that has consumed Congo, perpetrated by both Rwandan rebels and their enemies in the Congolese army. The army, however, enjoys generous logistical support from the UN peacekeeping mission, even though the campaign has led to 1,400 civilian deaths, countless rapes, and mass displacement. More»

Ugandan animals' advocates embrace social networking

(NEWSER) - Not only can your online buddies be any age and in any location, they don't even have to be your species. Tech-savvy advocates of the endangered mountain gorilla are about to launch an umbrella site, friendagorilla.org, that will feature videos, social networking, and blogs—by park rangers, not gorillas. The first-of-its-kind effort is based at the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, home to 370 animals, about half of the planet's remaining population of mountain gorillas. More»

(AP) - The strategic Congolese city of Goma descended into chaos today, raising the likelihood of a bloody regional war. Government soldiers commandeered cars, taxis, and motorbikes in a retreat from advancing rebels, joining tens of thousands of terrified refugees struggling to stay ahead of the violence. Tutsi rebels said they had reached the outskirts of Goma—an important staging ground for UN relief efforts—and declared a cease-fire to prevent panic. More»

Peacekeepers overwhelmed as rebels advance against government troops

(NEWSER) - The overwhelmed United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern Congo is urgently calling for reinforcements, the AP reports. A surge in fighting between Congolese government troops and forces led by a renegade general has sent tens of thousands fleeing. The UN currently has only 6,000 troops in North Kivu, where General Nkunda is threatening to take the capital—and then the country. More»

He and 'Washington Post' columnist hear tales of LRA brutalities

(NEWSER) - Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army have been terrorizing central Africa for years, "but the net around him tightens," writes Michael Gerson in the Washington Post . Gerson accompanied Ben Affleck, who founded the Eastern Congo Initiative , to the region to hear first-hand the tales of atrocities from those lucky enough to have escaped. (See a photo gallery here .) Followers think Kony "is a supernatural being," says one teen who escaped his soldiers after years of captivity. "He has a power over them.” More»