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Background: Established as a Belgian colony in 1908, the Republic of the Congo gained its independence in 1960, but its early years were marred by political and social instability. Col. Joseph MOBUTU seized power and declared himself president in a November 1965 coup. He subsequently changed his name - to MOBUTU Sese Seko - as well as that of the country - to Zaire. MOBUTU retained his position for 32 years through several subsequent sham elections as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led in May 1997 to the toppling of the MOBUTU regime by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC), but in August 1998 his regime was itself challenged by an insurrection backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DROC, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Rwanda, and Congolese armed rebel groups, but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003; Joseph KABILA remains as president and is joined by four vice presidents representing the former government, former rebel groups, and the political opposition.

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By amyuyma
October 28th 2008

Are you aware, over there, of the World's Deadliest War?

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma

"Eastern Congo is very, very unstable right now. ... There have been attacks and counterattacks between rebels and the Congo military." -Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer to CNN, November 1 At the time I wrote this October 28, only so much of the recent events had unfolded. Today on November 1 as I post this finally as I haven't had reliable internet connection until now, the current situation is on the CNN frontpage and has been in the news for the past week straight. Far away from you on the dark continent a war has been raging in a country [View Full Entry]

By amyuyma
October 26th 2008

Welcome to DR Congo: Swimming in lakes of UN convoys

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma

Photo 1

"YU, AMY." Oui, c'est moi! "Yu... Amy..." He laughs. Yep... "YOU," he points at me, "AMI!" he points at himself. "We friends!" Yep... It is ten in the morning and the chief DRC official at the Gisenyi/Goma border has had me in his little office now for about half an hour. He takes a funny liking to my name and has spent the last ten minutes repeating it on end, giggling to himself all the while, and smiling toothily at me sitting alone in the chair across his desk. Why I've been singled out to sit in here with him, I [View Full Entry]

By wanderingfeet
October 20th 2008

DRC

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » East » Goma

Lake Kivu
Veiw from the Stella

DRC Calling The Democratic Republic of Congo. What a crazy place. We crossed over the boarder early Monday morning and the difference between Rwanda and Congo was incredible. Gisenyi is a peaceful town on the water with a lot of nature and beaches. Goma on the other hand is full of people and chaotic. Goma is like a modern day Pompeii, the is a huge volcano about a 20 min drive (the roads are horrible though so you have to drive at about 30km/hour) which erupted in 2002 covering a large portion of the city with lava. Now there are a [View Full Entry]

By mlambert116
September 10th 2008

Imprisoned Goats Freed from DRC Prision

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic

Only in Africa... just one of the gems I've found on BBC Africa lately: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DR Congo frees goats from prison A minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered a Kinshasa jail to release a dozen goats, which he said were being held there illegally. Deputy Justice Minister Claude Nyamugabo said he found the goats just in time during a routine jail visit. The beasts were due to appear in court, charged with being sold illegally by the roadside. The minister said many police had s [View Full Entry]

By Mondelay
August 8th 2008

The Congos - My Story

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Kinshasa

Lingwala Market KIN

Finally I did it and survived. In six weeks as a rambling single white female in the Congos, I have to admit that I encountered relatively few problems. Of course I was arrested, interrogated by an army General and put under police surveillance, all for taking photos in places of strategic importance, but not a single franc was paid in bribes and I always parted with more friends and telephone numbers than when I arrived. Tourism is not really a concept widely understood in the Congos. Few people could grasp the idea of visiting a country to see how other people [View Full Entry]

By Mondelay
July 29th 2008

Supermarkets

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Kinshasa

In 2004 there were four or five what Europeans would classify as supermarkets in Kinshasa. Four years later, there are easily more than a dozen stocking every imaginable brand of imported wines and foodstuffs. It is a bit disconcerting to find things like Ecover detergents in Kinshasa (with the extent of pollution here there are much more effective ways of saving the planet) or the complete range of Cadbury’s chocolate (which I have never even seen in Brussels). The hic is of course the cost, with prices frequently more than double those in Europe. Nevertheless, this doesn’t seem t [View Full Entry]

By Mondelay
July 28th 2008

Quirks

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Kinshasa

Countless hours are spent playing cards, yet cards are dealt and games are played in an anti-clockwise motion, cups and cutlery are always served on the left and locks frequently turn in unexpected directions. Must have something to do with life on the other side of the equator. [View Full Entry]

By Mondelay
July 14th 2008

Respect

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Kinshasa

The notion of all humans being equal conflicts fundamentally with the Congolese notion of respect. Respect is intertwined with power and is derived through a series of hierarchies based on money, status and age. Children are therefore subordinate to their elders, even more so those from less well off backgrounds. Children are continuously hollered at to fetch water, run errands and serve elders. Someone who has ‘done well for themselves’ and who is comparatively better off than other family members financially enjoys a commanding position within the family. Yet the system extends t [View Full Entry]

By Mondelay
July 14th 2008

Business in the Congos

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Kinshasa

Cobbler BZV

Business takes place on the streets of Kinshasa. From haircuts to pedicures, sales of foreign and local currencies, mobile phones, bottles of petrol, repairs of electrical equipment, shoes and cars, photocopying and typing services. This is all in addition to the choice of bread, fruit, vegetables, drinks and the range of goods and services offered by rambling traders. No need for elaborate shopping centres, everything can be found by stepping out into the street. [View Full Entry]

By Mondelay
July 11th 2008

Public Transport

Africa » Congo Democratic Republic » West » Kinshasa

Typical Street Scene

Public transport in Kinshasa consists of anything with a motor and four wheels. Taxis are shared, so forget about entering a taxi and being delivered to your desired address. At first glance the system seems chaotic, yet it meshes together to form a network capable of moving the masses from one end of the city to another. A series of hand signals are used by drivers to communicate their intended direction and any tree along the roadside constitutes a stop. No trip to the Congo is complete without squeezing into one of these bone-shaking rust buckets and trundling along with the [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Africa » Congo Democratic Republic