DRC: Landmines hurting farmers’ livelihoods

KABALO, 26 March 2012 (IRIN) - Landmines planted about a decade ago in parts of Kabalo territory in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) southeastern Katanga Province are adversely affecting farming livelihoods, and an important World Food Programme (WFP) project. full report

SECURITY: LRA nurtures the next generation of child soldiers

FARADJE, 26 March 2012 (IRIN) - The dilemma for Atati Faustin, 13, from Faradje in Haut-Uélé District, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is that although he misses his younger brother – abducted into the ranks of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) two years ago - he is also afraid of being reunited with him. full report

CONGO: Thousands still homeless after munitions blast

BRAZZAVILLE, 23 March 2012 (IRIN) - Around 14,000 people are homeless in Congo’s capital, Brazzaville, two weeks after munitions in an army barracks exploded killing 223 people, wounding 2,500 and destroying large parts of the city. full report

SECURITY: Cracking open the LRA to better eliminate it

DUNGU, 21 March 2012 (IRIN) - After seven years held captive by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), 16-year-old Apiyo Tabisa’s release five months ago in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) along with a dozen or so others was as sudden as her abduction from Uganda. full report

BURUNDI: Birth registration campaign targets tens of thousands

BUJUMBURA, 20 March 2012 (IRIN) - An estimated 1.5 million children in Burundi are without birth certificates with those under five missing out on free medical care, but a nationwide campaign currently under way to register about 170,000 children under 18 in the next two months, could begin to change things. full report

DRC-UGANDA: Congolese refugees hail Lubanga verdict

ISINGIRO, 19 March 2012 (IRIN) - Congolese refugees in Oruchinga camp, southwestern Uganda, have welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) guilty verdict against former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rebel leader Thomas Lubanga. Some of the refugees are survivors of attacks by Lubanga’s forces. On March 14, Lubanga was convicted of the war crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them to take part in hostilities. full report

SECURITY: Fighting Kony with beer, spy planes and YouTube

LIMAYI, 15 March 2012 (IRIN) - It is just before noon in the village of Limayi in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Half a dozen empty beer bottles lie scattered at the feet of five Congolese soldiers lounging in easy chairs beneath a mango tree. A freshly opened bottle is propped-up against an automatic assault rifle lying in the dust. full report

DRC: Lubanga verdict “a first step”

NAIROBI, 14 March 2012 (IRIN) - A ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) finding former Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga guilty of conscripting child soldiers in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Ituri region is good news in the fight against impunity but more crimes there should be prosecuted, say analysts. full report

UGANDA: Land row delays resettlement of Congolese refugees

KAMPALA, 7 March 2012 (IRIN) - The continued arrival of refugees fleeing post-election violence and militia activities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in western Uganda, and the government’s efforts to resettle them, have created a land row that has already cost the life of a government official. full report