Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


1

Thousands Flee as Congo Ceasefire Fails

Heads of state meet as army, rebels kill dozens

Share

(Newser) – The ceasefire in eastern Congo crumbled yesterday as Tutsi rebels and Hutu militias did battle, leaving dozens of bodies lying in the streets of a town near the Rwandan border and forcing 35,000 residents to flee, the Guardian reports. Hutu residents have accused the rebel army of Laurent Nkunda of murdering civilians. The fighting appears to have been sparked by a regional Hutu militia, supported by the Congolese army; the UN did not intervene.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is holding a meeting in Kenya today, at which the Congolese president will meet his counterpart from Rwanda, who is believed to support the Tutsi rebels. Nkunda renewed his threat to attack Goma, the main city of the disputed region, if Congolese forces continued to attack his troops. The UN's forces in Goma have dug in, warning that they would use all their forces to defend the town.

Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda is surrounded by soldiers at his base in Tebero,, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 north of Goma in eastern Congo.
Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda is surrounded by soldiers at his base in Tebero,, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 north of Goma in eastern Congo.   (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)
Rebel soldiers loyal to Laurent Nkunda seen as they approach Mai Mai militia, near the village of Kiwanja, 90 kms north of Goma, eastern Congo, Wednesday Nov. 5, 2008.
Rebel soldiers loyal to Laurent Nkunda seen as they approach Mai Mai militia, near the village of Kiwanja, 90 kms north of Goma, eastern Congo, Wednesday Nov. 5, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Protegee, carrying her sibling on her back, cries as she looks for her parents through the village of Kiwanja, 90 kms north of Goma, eastern Congo, Thursday Nov. 6, 2008.
Protegee, carrying her sibling on her back, cries as she looks for her parents through the village of Kiwanja, 90 kms north of Goma, eastern Congo, Thursday Nov. 6, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
A group of displaced people walk on a road as they return home, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 in Kibumba, north of Goma in eastern Congo.
A group of displaced people walk on a road as they return home, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 in Kibumba, north of Goma in eastern Congo.   (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)
United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, right, at the Special Consultative Meeting on conflict in the Eastern Republic of Congo, at an hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008.
United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, right, at the Special Consultative Meeting on conflict in the Eastern Republic of Congo, at an hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008.   (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame, second left, arrives for Special Consultative Meeting on conflict in the Eastern Republic of Congo, at an hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008.
Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame, second left, arrives for Special Consultative Meeting on conflict in the Eastern Republic of Congo, at an hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008.   (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda at his base in Tebero, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 north of Goma in eastern Congo. A fragile cease-fire in Congo appeared to be unraveling.
Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda at his base in Tebero, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 north of Goma in eastern Congo. A fragile cease-fire in Congo appeared to be unraveling.   (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
11.19.09
Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention
1 comment
VIEWING:
 
Mr.C
Nov 7, 08 9:48 PM CST
"the UN did not intervene. UN...is holding a meeting"..." same sad story ---- anyone else pick up on this pattern Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

25 Stories

 Mountain Gorillas 
 Take Fight to 
 Survive 
 Online 

Ugandan animals' advocates embrace social networking

Sep 28, 09 6:37 PM CDT
(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.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • Africa • Facebook • gorilla • Rwanda • Uganda • mountain gorillas • Twitter • Congo • Jason Biggs

(AP) - Hillary Clinton traveled to war-ravaged eastern Congo today, where the nation's top diplomat demanded an end to the sexual violence that has claimed at least 200,000 victims. Clinton came to Goma aboard a UN plane over the objections of some top aides who were concerned about security and logistics... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hillary Clinton • Africa • rape • civil war • Democratic Republic of Congo • sexual violence • Goma • Congo • women's issues

 US College 
 Suspends 
 Prof Linked 
 to Genocide 

Suspected of role in Rwanda massacre

Feb 3, 09 4:07 AM CST
(Newser) - A US college has suspended a visiting professor suspected of participating in the Rwandan genocide, reports the Baltimore Sun. Rwandan prosecutors charge that Leopold Munyakazi, who was teaching French at Goucher College in Maryland, revealed hiding places of ethnic Tutsis to machete-wielding Hutu militias. "We have tried to act... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genocide • war crimes • Rwanda • Hutu • Tutsi • Goucher College • Leopold Munyakazi • Scholar Rescue Fund

25 Stories


Gunfire at a refugee camp forces thousands to flee
AFP

Will the summit have any effect?
Reuters

Why Congo is the West's failure
Times (UK)


World 
TwitterFollow @NewserWorld on Twitter

 
Democratic Republic of Congo • Rwanda • Tutsi • rebel fighters • Goma • Ban Ki-Moon • Congo • Laurent Nkunda

from our news partners