DR Congolese flee widespread unrest

Congolese flee widespread unrest - BBC

Many of the FDLR fled to DR Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide
Some 250,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been displaced following an operation to flush out Hutu rebels, aid agency Oxfam has said.

The joint operation against the rebels earlier this year was hailed as a great success by both Rwanda and DR Congo.
But now that the better-trained and equipped Rwandan army has left DR Congo, the Hutu militia is reportedly re-emerging from the forests.

Oxfam says various armed groups are now attacking civilians in the east.
Marcel Stoessel, Oxfam's country director in DR Congo, said the continued insecurity in North Kivu Province was making it difficult to deliver aid to those displaced.
"There is widespread looting, burning of villages and an unacceptable peak of sexual violence," he told the BBC.

Tens of thousands of people are fleeing from around the town of Kanyabayonga towards Lubero, a more populated area where they felt safer, he said.
"Oxfam is very worried that continued military operations are having a serious effect on the people who've had to flee their homes," he said.

On-and-off fighting involving the Hutu FDLR militia, the army and other militias has already displaced more than one million people in North Kivu since late 2006.

No pay
The BBC's Africa analyst Mary Harper says reports from the area indicate that it is members of the Congolese army and the FDLR militia that are attacking civilians, each accusing them of supporting the other side.
The fact that Congolese soldiers have not been paid for the past three months adds to the problem.

They are hungry, frustrated and probably terrified of attack from the many armed groups in the region, she says.

It seems the FDLR has not been crushed at all, she adds, rather that it engaged in a tactical retreat, vanishing for a few weeks only to reappear as a determined fighting force.

The FDLR's presence in DR Congo lies behind years of unrest in the region.
Some of the group's leaders are accused of taking part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered.
After the 1994 genocide, many of those responsible crossed into DR Congo as Tutsi rebels took power in Rwanda.
Rwanda has twice invaded DR Congo, saying it wants to stop the FDLR from staging attacks.

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LIFE for Lucky Dube's 3 Killers

Report by BBC - 2/4/09

A South African judge has sentenced three men to life in prison for killing reggae star Lucky Dube in 2007.

The 43-year-old was shot as the three stole his car in a Johannesburg suburb in a case which shocked the nation.
Family members broke down in tears, cheered and applauded in response, the South Africa Press Association reports.

"The sentence won't heal me, but we are happy they were arrested and that the law took its course," his wife Zanele Dube said afterwards.
The BBC's Mpho Lakaje outside the South Gauteng High Court says musicians and fans gathered outside to show their support.
I don't think we will ever recover from this. But we are happy that justice has been done
Backing singer Tonique Thala - South Africa's singing peacemaker
The court had heard that the three men thought their victim was Nigerian and did not realise his identity until they read about it in the newspapers the following day.

Our reporter says one of the banners outside court read: "Lucky Dube did not look like a Nigerian; he's an African."
According to Sapa, the court also sentenced Sifiso Mhlanga, Julius Gxowa, and Mbuti Mabe to 15 years each for the attempted robbery of Dube's car.
Murder alarm

One of Dube's backing vocalists said there was a sense of relief that the trial was over.
"I don't think we will ever recover from this. But we are happy that justice has been done," Tonique Thala said.

South Africa's best-selling reggae artist, Dube recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans during his 25-year career.
The killing had led to renewed domestic calls for the restoration of the death penalty in a bid to stem one of the world's highest murder rates.

Our reporter says South Africa's international image has been tarnished by its alarming crime levels. Nearly 19,000 people were murdered last year, according to official statistics.
Millions of visitors are expected for next year's football World Cup.

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