Bukavu-based Radio Maendeleo in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been authorised to resume operations by the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), the Rwandan-backed rebel movement announced on Monday.

A 3,800-strong force will soon be deployed in the embattled Ituri District of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as in other locations, the new Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the UN, William Lacy Swing, announced on Sunday.

Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) town of Butembo had stopped on Monday, but the situation remained "tense", according to Hamadoun Toure, spokesman of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUC.

A new June report from Watchlist on children and armed conflict calls on all parties to conflict in the DRC to immediately halt abuses against children and uphold all international obligations to protect children's security and rights. It is also a call to the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to work vigorously to ensure the end of abuses against Congolese children and adolescents.

The war in Congo has been miss-described as a local ethnic rivalry when in fact it represents an ongoing struggle for power at the national and international levels, Human Rights Watch says in a new report. The report provides evidence that combatants in the Ituri region of north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have slaughtered some five thousand civilians in the last year because of their ethnic affiliation. But the combatants are armed and often directed by the governments of the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda.

The DRC has timber, diamonds, gold, copper, and other esoteric minerals such as coltan, used in mobile phones and video games and has therefore attracted transnational mining concerns. An expert UN panel investigating the illegal exploitation of DRC’s resources found that a "predatory network of elites" had been established to fight an "economy of war." As a result of the investigation the panel called upon the UN to impose financial penalties on various companies. Eight of these 29 companies were Canadian, showing that when it comes to exploiting the profit potential of Africa, Canadian firms, among others, are quick off the mark.

Women's organisations in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have accused the United Nations mission there of turning a blind eye to ongoing fighting.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the country's two main opposition factions have signed an agreement on military and security arrangements, a major step towards the formation of a two-year national transitional government, according to the United Nations mission in the country.

ZOA Refugee Care is a Christian relief and rehabilitation organisation providing assistance to refugees, IDP's, returnees and host populations in some ten countries in Africa, Asia and the Balkans. This is a pioneering position with the aim to establish a ZOA country programme in Eastern DRC.

Switzerland has given 1.2 million Swiss francs (US $903,478) to its partner organisations in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation reported on Tuesday. In a statement, the agency said part of the funds would be used to build and operate an emergency clinic in Bunia, the main town in Ituri District where recent inter-militia fighting had resulted in hundreds of deaths and the displacement of thousands of civilians.

The French-led multinational force deployed in Bunia said on Saturday that local militia must hand over guns or leave the town within 72 hours. Gen. Jean-Paul Thonier, the commander of the UN-mandated force, gave "72 hours for the withdrawal of all armed forces from Bunia", according to the force's spokesman, Col. Gerard Dubois.
Related Link:
* MILITIA GROUP AGREES TO CANTON ITS FORCES OUTSIDE BUNIA
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=34931

Negotiations to reach a ceasefire among various armed groups in North Kivu Province of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were due to resume on Wednesday in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi, a UN official said.

The Trainer trains and coaches local workshop-leaders in the identification of psychosocial needs and in conducting creative workshops. The trainer reports to the Content Supervisor and/or Head of Mission.

Leading human rights and aid agencies called the situation in Congo one of the world's largest humanitarian tragedies and demanded urgent action to halt the sexual abuse and forced recruitment of children. In a 36-page report, a network of agencies called on all parties in Congo's war to uphold international treaties to protect children's rights.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says it is "deeply concerned" about the safety of journalists working in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an area currently under the control of the Congolese Rally For Democracy (RCD-Goma) movement. Recently, one journalist was attacked and another was detained in reprisal for their work.

The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern over the spread of cholera in Kasai Oriental Province, central Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where three new areas were affected between 1-8 June.

There are an estimated 100 million small arms in the hands of individuals, or militia groups, in Africa, according to various reports. The proliferation of such weapons was the major factor in the ethnic and religious strife, political instability and violent crime on the continent, the reports say. A Kalashnikov, or an AK-47 rifle, costs as little as 15 U.S. dollars in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The district of Ituri in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing spiralling violence bordering on genocide. The crisis urgently needs to be stopped. However the French-led Interim Emergency Multinational Force (IEMF) being deployed to Bunia, the administrative centre, is totally insufficient. A much bigger UN intervention force is needed, that operates over a greater geographic area and stays much longer than the few months currently envisaged. There must also be sustained pressure on Rwanda, Uganda and Congo's leaders - and their proxy militias - to support the local pacification process in the area and finalise negotiations towards the establishment of a legitimate transitional Congo government. This is according to a new report from the International Crisis Group.

A new round of clashes has broken out in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as United Nations troops deploy to stop bitter ethnic fighting in the town of Bunia. The latest fighting is in North Kivu province between the rebel RCD-Goma and the RCD-ML groups, a separate conflict to that between ethnic Hema and Lendu militias around Bunia.

A UK-based NGO, Save the Children, has urged the multinational force currently mobilising in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to take an active role in efforts to prevent use of children by armed groups in the region.