North Kivu Civil Society Engages on Conflict Minerals

Born out of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in eastern Congo, a group of prominent civil society organizations recently formed a coalition to address the linkage between natural resource exploitation and human rights abuses in the region ...
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Attack on Congo President: Coup Attempt or Plot to Undermine Election?

Yesterday, more than 50 armed men, some wearing army uniforms, attacked the Presidential Palace and a Congolese military installation in the capital of Kinshasa ...
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Congo’s ‘Terminator’ and the Mining Ban

The media blackout surrounding the recent incident linking Congo army commander and wanted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda to a gold smuggling operation and $1 million in counterfeit bills has enabled him to try to dictate the narrative ...
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Eastern Congo’s ‘Terminator’ Caught with Counterfeit Cash in Minerals Smuggling Scheme

A private jet plane registered in the U.S. under license plate number N886DT was grounded at the Goma airport recently for the most unusual conflict minerals business. The crew consisted of an American, a Frenchman, and two Nigerians who carried a whopping sum of $6.8 million in cash destined for General Bosco Ntaganda, dubbed “The Terminator." ...
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Controversial Constitutional Review a Bellwether for More Disarray in Congo?

President Kabila’s successful effort to revise the electoral law in the Congolese constitution last week sparked controversy, prompting opposition and human rights groups to warn that the changes are a threat to national unity ...
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From Bar Fight to Mass Rapes: The Continued Perversion of the Congolese Army

An attempted bribing incident by a Congolese soldier escalated into an incident that left 33 women raped and many people displaced ...
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Kabila’s Mining Ban Continues to Set Afloat Unfed and Underpaid Soldiers

President Kabila’s nearly four-month ban on mining exploitation in the Kivu provinces has been a windfall for army commanders of the government’s ongoing military operations against Hutu foreign combatants in eastern Congo ...
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Heavy Fighting between Army and FDLR Displaces Thousands in Walikale

Fighting between the Congolese army and the FDLR rebel group broke out a week ago and has continued even now in the village of Busurungi near the mineral-rich Walikale region ...
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Field Dispatch: Behind the Ban- An Update from Congo

Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s sudden ban on mineral exports from three eastern provinces has left many observers in the region questioning the effectiveness of the directive. It has also reportedly made life difficult for experts at Congo’s mining ministry in Kinshasa, who have been struggling with how to implement and enforce the ban ...
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Shake Up in Eastern Congo
There is much talk, speculation, and anxiety here over news of a possible redeployment of Rwandan troops to eastern Congo, which corresponds -- not coincidentally -- an announced ban on mining in parts of the region ...
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