International
22 people feared dead in eastern Congo as inter-ethnic clashes escalate
The escalation of inter-ethnic clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has witnessed the killing of no less than 22 persons, including 15 civilians, over the past two days reports say.
Local administrator, Hope Sabini told Reuters that militiamen from the Hutu-dominated Nyatura militia attacked a Nande-dominated militia called Mai Mai Mazembe in the village of Kalusi on Sunday and Bwalanda on Monday.
Sabini added that no less than eleven civilians were killed in the fighting in Kalusi, while four civilians and seven militiamen were killed in Bwalanda.
Read also: DRC: Authorities block Internet access as protests continue
The incident is coming two days after security forces loyal to President Joseph Kabila killed one and wounded two others in the capital of Kinshasa, who were to take part in church-led marches against the authoritarian rule of the incumbent leader.
Reports say armed security forces surrounded Kinshasa’s main churches and blocked roads, as Catholic and evangelical church-goers across Congo had been meant to take to the streets but were restricted.
Sources say the death and woundings occurred in different locations in Kinshasa, as Church groups have become the main opposing force to Kabila who has been in power since 2001.
RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears
Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
German Police bust alleged Nigerian scam dating ring
German authorities have arrested eleven individuals suspected of being members of a Nigerian mafia group involved in a large-scale dating...
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...