The United Nations stabilizing mission MONUSCO says civilians, including children, were targeted.

The province of  Ituri  is one of those affected by the Ebola outbreak in the DRC.

The age-old violence between Lendu pastoralists and Hema herders, which has killed more than 200 people and displaced a further 30 000 since June ,   is one of the most serious challenges to medical staff trying to contain the epidemic.

People trying to flee this violence were cut down in the villages and displacement camps that came under fire from unidentified gunmen.

There has not been any comment yet from the DRC government or the United Nations.

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Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Edgar  Lungu say delay could raise suspicion and undermine peace and stability in that country

Zambian President Edgar Lungu, who heads the  SADC organ on politics, defense and security cooperation called on President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria today.

They were briefed by Zambian Foreign Minister Joseph Malanj who headed the SADC election observation team to the DRC poll.

They agreed with the observers and the election had been generally peaceful  can secured the right of the Congolese people to vote.

They commended the UN peacekeepers  MONUSCO and the   DRC security rotes for supporting the electoral commission.

They assured the people the DRC of SADC’s support and solidarity.

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The UN body’s meeting in Geneva tomorrow to determine whether the outbreak constitutes an international emergency.

Community resistance and local violence in the North Kivus are blamed for the inability of health authorities to check the spread of Ebola.

It epicenter has moved 20kms from the Mangina to Beni on the shores of Lake Kivu – hard  up against the Uganda border.

A member of the UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO is among the latest victims.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has pulled their workers back from the worst impacted area for safety reasons

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There are fears that violence is pushing the DRC into famine.

ends intro

MONUSCO in the DRC is the largest and most expensive  peacekeeping force in the world.

The United Nations Security Council has voted to reduce by 3 000 its 19 000-strong ranks.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is among those who’ve sounded a note of caution.

In Kasai province, riven by three years of fighting following the killing of a traditional leader, half a million children suffer sever malnutrition.

They’re among one-and-a-half million people displaced by fighting in the DRC and the World Food Programme is running out off money to feed them

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Sheka was arrested in Mutongo, in the country’s North Kivu region by the blue helmets who transferred  him to the regional capital Goma.

The UN’s peacekeeping mission in DRC, Monusco, says Sheka’s fully aware that he’s wanted by the government to stand trial for alleged crimes.

Authorities issued the warrant for Sheka’s arrest in 2011 after an attack in which the militia under his command and two other groups allegedly raped nearly 400 people in 13 villages.

His soldiers are accused of razing almost 1 000 homes and businesses and leading about 100 people off into forced labour.

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The announcement was made by President Jacob Zuma to Parliament .

The South Africa  National Defence Force has fielded 1371 members with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo known as MONUSCO.

It’s the largest contingent of peacekeepers deployed abroad by South Africa.

What’s called the Force Intervention Brigade has an extended mandate to step in to stop acts of aggression against civilians.

The South African troops will sport the UN blue berets until March next year.

Former director of South Africa’s Joint Operations Division Lieutenant General Derrick Mgwebi has extended his mandate as MONUSCO’s force commander.

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The mandate for the force known as  MONUSCO has been extended for a year with 3 600 fewer troops.

ends intro

The United States lead the push for the reduction in the nearly 20 000-strong MONUSCO, calling the DRC corrupt.

Critics of the troop cut have called the UN move penny pinching.

The council instucted the UN Secretary General to strategically review MONUSCO’s operations and examine its relevance.

President Joseph Kabila, who’s clinging to power following the expiry of his constitutional mandate, says there’s not need for MONUSCO.

The Security Council urges him and other stakeholders to implement their deal struck last December to hold free elections in the DRC this year.

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Nikki Haley tells the Council of Foreign Relations in New York that the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC is mandated to partner with Kinshasa’s  crooked government.

ends intro

US Ambassador too the UN Nikki Haley says the world organization is aiding a government that is inflicting predatory behavior against its own people.

She says they  should have the decency and common sense to end this.

Haley says UN peace missions often lose their focus and become a never-ending presence in some countries.

US President Donald Trump wants to cut the size of MONUSCO, the 20 000-strong UN peace keeping force in the DRC.

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The SANDF has not released the name of the soldier killed in clashes in the North Kivu city of Butembo.

The United Nations Secretary General has called on the DRC authorities to investigate the attacking and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

The assailants  are believed to be from the Mai Mal militia  who have regularly attacked the UN peacekeepers known as MONUSCO.

Two South African soldiers were wounded in the onslaught that killed a policeman and five militia members.

Special representative of the secretary general Maman Sidikou says the attack constitutes a war crime but it won’t undermine the commitment and determination of MONUSCO to fulfill its mandate to protect civilians and neutralise armed groups mandate.

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Whatever decision the commander of the blue helmets takes, the South African contingent is present, ready and waiting.

South Africa has an infantry battalion and squadron of Rooivalk attack helicopters in the DRC….

…. as their contribution to the Special Intervention Brigade….

….uniquely mandated to take offensive action to protect civilians.

This Brigade is being deployed to subdue about 2 000 Hutu rebels that fled Rwanda after the 1994 genocide and have failed to heed a January 2 deadline to surrender.

MONUSCO’s deputy force commander Maj. Gen. Jean Baillaud they’re well prepared for operations against the rebels.

A SANDF spokesman says South African forces in the special brigade are in place and ready to play their part.

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