DR Congo women march against sexual violence from the BBC

The Democratic Republic of Congo's first lady has led thousands of women on a march against sexual violence.


Olive Lembe Kabila headed the rally in the town of Bukavu in the east of the country, where Congolese and foreign armed groups have operated for years.

Last week, the UN said government troops were raping and killing women in the same villages where hundreds were raped by rebels in July and August.

The country's defence minister has denied any soldiers were involved.

On Friday, the head of the UN mission in DR Congo, Monusco, said an estimated 15,000 people had been raped there last year.

'Regaining dignity'

The demonstration led by Mrs Lembe Kabila saw thousands of women walk through the streets of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.

Many of them carried banners with slogans such as "No to sexual terrorism", according to the AFP news agency.

"Coming here is important because violence towards women is used systematically as a weapon of war," said Miriam Nobre of World March of Women, which organised the march.

Nene Rukunghu, a doctor at a hospital in Bukavu, said the international community finally seemed interested in DR Congo's problems.

"We must fight against impunity, so that the perpetrators of violence are punished, to allow women to regain their dignity. Despite what they endure, Congolese women are strong and able to stand up again."

Pirates seize South Korean fishing boat off Kenya from the BBC

A South Korean fishing boat with 43 sailors aboard has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Kenya, South Korea's foreign ministry says.

The ministry said the crab fishing vessel was seized off Lamu Island on 9 October.
South Korean media reported the boat had been taken to a pirate stronghold in northern Somalia.
Kidnapping for ransom is common in Somalia, which has had no effective government for two decades.

In a statement, South Korea's foreign ministry said it was investigating the incident and had set up an emergency team at its embassy in Kenya.

The statement did not say if contact with the pirates had been made or if a ransom had been demanded.
South Korea has a warship on anti-piracy patrol in the waters of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden off Somalia.

The area is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, leading to the Suez Canal.
European naval officers fighting piracy in the waters warned earlier in October that pirates would likely be more desperate with the onset of the piracy season as their success rate was declining.

The European Union's naval force, Navfor, estimates that the pirates' success ratio - the number of successful hijackings versus the number attempted - has dropped from 50% a few years ago to 20-30% this year because of international patrols.

The patrols have forced the pirates to range a wider area of the Indian Ocean in search of targets.
But Navfor also warned that hostages are being held for a longer period on average and that ransoms being demanded - and paid - are breaking new records.

Brother of Nigeria militant Henry Okah arrested from the BBC

Charles Okah, the brother of Nigerian militant Henry Okah, has been arrested in Lagos on suspicion of aiding two deadly car bombings in the capital, Abuja, security sources say.


The attacks on 1 October during celebrations of the 50th anniversary of independence killed at least 12 people.

Henry Okah was detained in South Africa after the blasts and is facing terrorism charges.

He formerly led militants Mend, who say oil wealth must be fairly distributed.

The group be now leads is believed to have split from the main Mend - the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta - which signed an agreement with the government last year to end years of unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.

Pseudonym

One security source told Associated Press that Charles Okah was detained during a raid on his home in Lagos on Saturday.

Continue reading the main story

Henry Okah

Grew up in wealthy Lagos family

1990s: Sold guns in Lagos

2003: Moved to South Africa

Seen as man behind Mend's media-savvy e-mail strategy


2007: Arrested on gun-running charges in Angola

2008: Extradited to Nigeria

2009: Freed under amnesty the day after Mend staged first attack on Lagos

2010: Charged in South Africa over Abuja car bombing

Seen as man behind Mend's media-savvy e-mail strategy

"[He] has been mentioned... by suspects with us as a source of funds for the blast. He is with us in Abuja," the source said.

Charles Okah is also suspected of distributing information on behalf on Mend.

Charles Okah used the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo "to threaten and cause confusion" in emailed statements, the sources said.

An email warning of another bomb attack in Abuja was sent on Saturday and signed Jomo Gbomo, Reuters news agency quoted the sources as saying.

Henry Okah left Nigeria for South Africa after being freed from prison in July 2009.

He has denied links to the Abuja blasts but prosecutors say he was the mastermind.

Mend had issued a threat saying it intended to target the independence event in Abuja shortly before the two bombs went off, about five minutes apart.

DR Congo troops in rape and murder claim from the BBC

A UN envoy says government troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) might have committed rape and murder.


The special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Margot Wallstrom, said UN peacekeepers there had information suggesting soldiers had committed such abuses.

The alleged attacks are said to have occurred in the same place where rebels carried out mass rapes just weeks ago.

Ms Wallstrom urged the government to investigate the allegations.

She was briefing the Security Council on her visit to North Kivu province.

After the mass rapes in July and August came to light, UN peacekeepers based just 20 miles (32km) away were criticised for not responding quickly enough.

Analysis

Barbara Plett

BBC UN correspondent

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"A dead rat is worth more than the body of a woman." That's the quote from a rape victim with which Margot Wallstrom began her report to the Security Council.

She also described communities reeling with shock after the rapes of elderly women, which shattered social taboos.

The reality is that eastern DR Congo itself is shattered, with both rebels and government troops preying on civilians. In such a context of lawlessness, what can be done?

Much has been said about improving the performance of UN peacekeepers who failed to respond to the mass rapes in July and August. But even at best they are not a substitute for a functioning government.

Ms Wallstrom's strategy has been to press for holding militia leaders accountable under international law. She therefore made much of the recent arrests of two rebel commanders, including one on a warrant from the International Criminal Court, calling this an important precedent which gave victims a "glimmer of hope."

About 300 civilians and more than 50 children in the Walikale region were raped by the rebels - many of them in front of their families and neighbours.

Ms Wallstrom blamed the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Mai-Mai militia.

The attacks had focused international attention on the endemic sexual violence in Congo and UN failures to deal with it.

Since then, Ms Wallstrom said government troops (FARDC) had been deployed to the territory to reassert control and to implement the president's moratorium on mining in the area, which is rich in minerals.

The UN special representative heard directly from locals on her visit last week and said UN peacekeepers in the area had also told her of rapes, killings and lootings perpetrated recently by government soldiers.

She urged the DRC government to investigate the new attacks and "swiftly hold any perpetrators to account".

"The possibility that the same communities that were brutalised in July and August are now also suffering exactions at the hands of the FARDC troops is unimaginable and unacceptable," she said.

The BBC's United Nations correspondent, Barbara Plett, says Ms Wallstrom's warning underlines the enormous difficulty of protecting civilians in a region overrun by rebel groups, with an army made up of former militias.

The UN Security Council also heard a call for sanctions against a Rwandan Hutu commander known as "Colonel Serafim" who the special representative says is among those responsible for the July and August attacks.

Ms Wallstrom welcomed the recent arrests of two rebel leaders, saying this should serve as a warning that sexual violence would not be tolerated.

Four African nations crack down on LRA from the BBC

Four African nations have agreed to form a joint military force to fight Lord's Resistance Army rebels, the African Union says.


It says the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Uganda will form a brigade to pursue the militants.

The LRA, which originated in Uganda 20 years ago, has recently mounted deadly attacks in all four countries.

It now targets towns some 1,000km (600 miles) away from Uganda, the UN says.

The latest LRA attack was in the Central African Republic's northern town of Birao last Sunday, said Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

The spokesman said the rebels reportedly abducted young girls, looted property and set shops on fire.

He added that the LRA had already carried out more than 240 deadly attacks this year, killing at least 344 people.

Border patrols

The action plan to fight the LRA was agreed at Friday's high-level meeting in Bangui - the capital of the Central African Republic, the AU said in a statement. The statement did not mention figures, but a brigade is commonly though to include at least 1,000 men.

Ministers from the four countries affected by LRA attacks decided to establish the joint brigade - which would be backed by the AU - to go after the rebels.

They said they would also set up a joint operations centre, which would facilitate the exchange of information and intelligence.

The plan also envisages joint border patrols. All this would be co-ordinated by a special AU representative.

A diplomatic source contacted by the BBC says the plan also relies on Nigeria and South Africa - the only two African nations that have the logistical capacity to bring the plan to fruition.

This announcement is the first step towards the long-awaited creation of a mobile brigade that the AU can call on in times of trouble, the BBC World Service's Africa editor Martin Plaut says.

He says that although the AU statement only mentions the LRA, there are suggestions that this brigade could provide a blueprint for cross-border operations against al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, which is currently plaguing areas of Mali and Mauritania.

Sudan objects to UN plans for new border troops from the BBC

The Sudanese government has said the UN cannot move new troops to its tense North-South border without its consent.


It comes after the UN's peacekeeping chief said troops would be sent to "hotspots" at the request of the semi-autonomous South's president.

There is growing tension in the country in the run-up to a referendum on Southern independence due to be held in January, correspondents say.

The referendum was part of a 2005 peace deal that ended the civil war.

On Friday, UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said the UN force would increase its presence along the 2,000km (1,250 mile) border.

He said the increase would be limited to "hotspots" and that the UN could not create a full "buffer zone" between the regions.

Officials at the UN said the decision had been made following an appeal from South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, who was concerned the North was preparing for war.

But President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's security adviser, Salah Gosh, rejected the plan, saying troops could not be deployed without the consent of the government.

Ibrahim Ghandour, another leading politician in Mr Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP), said any tension in the region could be sorted out between the two sides, so a buffer zone between North and South was not necessary.

The BBC's James Copnall in Khartoum says there has been a surge in inflammatory statements in recent weeks in Sudan, as the referendum approaches.

There is also a huge argument about who can vote in a second referendum, in which the oil-producing region of Abyei will decide on whether to join the North or the South, our correspondent adds.

Sudan is divided between the mainly Muslim and Arab-speaking North, and the South, where most people are Christian or follow traditional religions.

Many in Sudan are concerned the ongoing tensions around the referendum will see the country return to civil war.

The last North-South conflict lasted two decades and left two million people dead.

Zambia probes shooting of workers at China-run mine from the BBC

Zambian police are investigating claims that managers at a Chinese-run coal mine in the south of the country shot and wounded at least 11 miners.


Reports say the Chinese managers had opened fire on Friday because they felt threatened by miners who protested about their working conditions.

No-one has been charged so far after the shooting at the Collum mine.

China has invested heavily in the Zambian economy but this has led to some worker resentment.

In 2006, an opposition presidential candidate campaigned openly on an anti-foreigner platform and did well in areas where the Chinese presence was most visible.

Police pledge

"The workers were protesting against the poor working conditions when managers using shotguns started to shoot aimlessly, not in the air," Zambian police spokesman Ndandula Siamana told the AFP news agency.

"It's possible that the managers feared that they might be attacked but we shall ensure that the culprits are brought to book," he said.

The spokesman added that the injured Zambian miners were currently being treated at a hospital in the town of Sinazongwe.

The management of the Collum mine has so far made no public comment about the incident.

Last year China invested more than $400m (£350m) in Zambia's mining industry, and Chinese investments in the county are continuing to grow.

Save the Children calls for release of Somalia hostage from the BBC

Save the Children has called for the unconditional and immediate release of a British security consultant who was kidnapped in Somalia.


The consultant, and a local worker, who was later freed unharmed, were seized in Adado near the Ethiopian border.

A spokeswoman for the charity said: "The other man abducted at the same time - a British national who was born in Zimbabwe - remains captive."

She said the charity was extremely concerned for his welfare.

She added: "The two men were working with Save the Children whilst the agency carried out a feasibility assessment into setting up a programme to help sick and malnourished children and their families in the area."

She added the charity, which has been working in the country for more than 40 years, had not yet been contacted by the group behind the kidnapping.

Masked gunmen

The BBC's Mohamed Mwalimu had earlier said the kidnapping came amid fierce fighting involving tanks and heavy artillery around the town of Adado.

The security consultant had gone to the area to see if it was safe enough for Save the Children to set up a new base to help malnourished and sick children, along with their families.

But on Thursday evening, a group of masked gunmen stormed the building used as a staff residence.

High walls and a heavy steel gate reportedly forced the kidnappers to climb in through a window before they fled with their hostages into an area said to be controlled by the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda.

Adado is also closely linked to pirate groups who routinely take ships and crew hostage and demand hefty ransoms.

Until now, Adado had been seen as a relatively stable part of Somalia, with aid groups considering relocating there after being forced out of more volatile regions.

Several foreigners have been kidnapped in Somalia in recent years.

Most have been freed unhurt after a ransom has been paid.

Robert Mugabe: Zimbabwe unity deal should end next year from the BBC

Zimbabwe's president has said a power-sharing deal which expires in four months' time should not be extended.


Robert Mugabe said the country should hold a referendum on a new constitution early in 2011 and then elections.

He said he was reluctant to renegotiate the unity deal as some events happening in the coalition were "foolish".

Mr Mugabe has been sharing power with rival Morgan Tsvangirai since last year, under a deal worked out after disputed 2008 elections.

"Some will say let us negotiate and give it another life. I am reluctant because part of the things that are happening [in the coalition] are foolish," Mr Mugabe said in comments broadcast on state television.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai last week said he was disgusted with Mr Mugabe and earlier this week suggested that Zimbabwe's ambassadors should not be recognised by foreign governments.

Wrangling

Under their accord, the two politicians agreed to draw up a new constitution followed by a referendum and then fresh elections.

But Mr Mugabe expressed frustration with constant wrangling within the coalition government, saying the lifespan of the political accord had reached its end.

"February next year, which is about four months to go, then it will have lived its full life and I do not know what is going to happen if we are not ready with a constitution," Mr Mugabe said.

Though the power-sharing pact does not specify how long the coalition government should last, it gives a 24-month timetable for the crafting of a new constitution seen as crucial for free and fair elections.

The process of reforming the existing constitution is already almost a year behind schedule, delayed by a lack of funds and disagreement over the composition of committees.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher, in Johannesburg, says that with Mr Mugabe's patience in coalition government clearly running thin, his statement has raised the possibility that Zimbabwe might vote without a new constitution in place.

The country has once more suspended its public outreach programme on a new constitution due to funding problems.

The public meetings were put on hold last month after a supporter of Mr Tsvangirai was killed during a meeting.

Mr Tsvangirai, who leads the Movement for Democratic Change, has accused the president of violating their agreement by unilaterally appointing ambassadors.

On Wednesday mediators from South Africa travelled to Harare to try to resolve the disagreement.