BREAKING: Africa's Biggest-Ever Leak, Dirty Millions Stashed in Washington DC Real Estate

NOTE from Congo Watch Editor: Thanks to The Sentry in Washington DC for sending me their report, copied here in full.

BREAKING: ‘CONGO HOLD-UP’

Africa’s Biggest-Ever Data Leak Reveals Dirty Millions Stashed in Washington DC Real Estate 

 

November 19, 2021 (Washington, DC) – Red flags for corruption, money laundering, and other financial crimes were ignored as millions of dollars linked to the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) traveled through a maze of business transactions and were stashed in quiet residential neighborhoods surrounding the US capital Washington, DC, according to a new investigative report by The Sentry, “Embezzled Empire.” 

 

The Sentry’s revelations come today in the first wave of “Congo Hold-up,” a series of investigative reports by an international consortium of non-profit organizations and media outlets. The millions of leaked bank records obtained by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) and the French news group Mediapart and shared with The Sentry and other consortium partners by PPLAAF and European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) represent the largest confidential data leak in African history.

Michelle Kendler-Kretsch, Investigator at The Sentry, said: “The Congo Hold-up leak is the clearest evidence to date of the powerful combination of tools the Kabila family had their fingertips to embezzle public funds, including a bank and a maze of companies all under their control. How the former president’s brother purchased millions of dollars’ worth of real estate in the US and South Africa, it appears in part using funds diverted from the Congolese government, is only one of many scandals now being revealed using this massive trove of leaked bank statements, emails, contracts, bills, and corporate records. This level of detail offers an unparalleled view of the previously-secret machinery used to plunder Congolese public funds.”

 

John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry, said: “Rarely is the world afforded such a clear and comprehensive view into the ways a state can be captured -- every theft of public money, backroom deal, and shell company, and every failure along the way to stop the chain of illicit transactions. With this magnitude of evidence in the Congo Hold-up leak, there should be no delay in bringing the corrupt perpetrators, their accomplices, and international enablers to justice.”

At a time of political turmoil, Francis Selemani, the brother of former DRC president Joseph Kabila, funneled steadily more money into real estate investments abroad, especially in the US. The Sentry’s investigation reveals how Selemani’s nine-year tenure in a senior management position at BGFIBank DRC gave the Kabila family and their allies access to a financial institution they could use to launder the proceeds of corruption. Oversight of BGFIBank DRC’s activities was badly deficient, as the bank’s own internal audit found, enabling the Kabila family to circulate funds clandestinely throughout their business network.

Justyna Gudzowska, Director of Illicit Finance Policy at The Sentry, said: "When the brother of a notoriously corrupt ruler is able to launder millions of dollars into real estate just a stone's throw from the US capital, it's high time to close the loopholes that allow this type of activity to flourish. The real estate industry has been far too happy to turn a blind eye to dirty money stolen from the world's poorest countries, and the exemption for real estate professionals in the US anti-money laundering framework should be revoked without delay." 

 

J.R. Mailey, Director of Investigations at The Sentry, said: “The Congo Hold-up leak is a paper trail of 3.5 million documents that leads to one central conclusion: banks are the arteries of a kleptocracy. They provide a place to park looted state assets, a vessel for paying and receiving bribes, a veil to disguise the origin and destination of illicit funds, and a conduit for stashing money in property abroad. The investigations published as part of this consortium provide a glimpse into how one of the world’s poorest countries has hemorrhaged untold wealth—but they also provide governments, law enforcement agencies, and financial institutions with the evidence needed to take meaningful action. The findings should prompt prosecutions, sanctions, asset seizures, hefty fines, and an overhaul of several countries’ anti-money laundering regimes.”

In the US, the full spectrum of anti-money laundering requirements only covers some of the professionals involved in a real estate transaction. Real estate professionals can provide valuable financial intelligence on possible illicit motives but are subject to fewer government reporting requirements than financial institutions.

 

Selected excerpts from The Sentry’s report:

- Although President Joseph Kabila’s final term as head of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was set to end in December 2016, he clung to power and delayed elections for another two years. While the eyes of many observers were fixed on the election stalling tactics in Kinshasa, Kabila’s brother Francis Selemani purchased numerous luxury homes in the United States and South Africa, it appears at least in part using funds diverted from the Congolese government. 

- At the time, Selemani was managing director of BGFIBank DRC, the Congolese subsidiary of Gabon-based BGFIBank Group.

- Selemani and the Kabila family used a network of companies and the bank they controlled to misappropriate public funds, transferring millions abroad and purchasing millions of dollars in foreign real estate.

- Because many of Selemani’s real estate acquisitions were all-cash purchases, he was able to avoid the standard due diligence performed in connection with bank financing—due diligence that might have raised questions about the source of his wealth. 

- Selemani and the Kabila family moved substantial sums through BGFIBank DRC with little to no resistance. Among the most problematic transactions, according to an internal audit at BGFIBank DRC, were multimillion-dollar transfers involving an obscure company called Sud Oil.

- Among the bank records in the Congo Hold-up leak are documents revealing that between 2015 and 2018, Sud Oil sent more than $12 million to accounts and companies owned or controlled by Selemani. 

- Investigations by The Sentry, Congo Research Group, and other members of the Congo Hold-up consortium show that Sud Oil received at least $85 million in funds from a range of Congolese government institutions, including the Central Bank of Congo, the DRC’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, the Congolese state-owned mining company Gécamines, and the country’s electoral commission. 

- Selemani purchased 17 properties for a total of $6.6 million in the affluent suburbs of Washington, DC, and Johannesburg, South Africa. 

- The Sentry identified a range of irregularities, misrepresentations, and inconsistencies in transactions connected to bank accounts held by Selemani and his companies that are red flags for money laundering and other financial crimes. Funds received from public institutions lacked justification, and the sources of funding for some transfers were misrepresented.

- Selemani and his companies received almost $3 million in US and South African bank accounts for which the wire transfers bore apparently inaccurate details.

- Selemani used corporate vehicles that obscured his identity as the owner of all but one of the 17 real estate purchases discovered by The Sentry. Selemani had originally purchased nine properties in his own name, but he then transferred ownership to a commercial company and to trusts he controlled, including by selling them to his own company, in a series of operations that is a red flag for money laundering through real estate. 

Key recommendations (complete recommendations in the report): 

- Open an investigation into these real estate purchases. Authorities in the United States and South Africa should investigate the source of funds used by Selemani and his relatives to buy properties in their respective countries. If appropriate, they should pursue legal mechanisms to forfeit and seize properties purchased with the proceeds of corruption or other illicit means.

- Conduct a thorough internal investigation. Any financial institution that has engaged in a correspondent banking relationship with BGFIBank DRC or processed transactions involving the bank should conduct a thorough internal investigation to ascertain whether it has participated in violations of law or contravened internal policies. The investigation should include a review of the financial institution’s internal controls around anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-corruption compliance. Appropriate remedial action should be implemented immediately.

- Ensure that the US and South African real estate sectors comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) customer due diligence standards. The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) should require real estate agents and other professionals involved in real estate transactions, such as lawyers, to maintain AML programs, file suspicious activity reports, and comply with other record-keeping and reporting requirements, including the identification of beneficial ownership information and source of funds. South Africa’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) should vigorously enforce the 2017 additions to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) that put these requirements in place. FinCEN and the FIC should provide training and testing to ensure compliance with established standards. 

- Issue a public advisory on the money laundering risks in real estate. FinCEN should issue an updated public advisory to US financial institutions warning of the risks for money laundering through real estate, including the involvement of family members of politically exposed persons (PEPs) highlighted in this report. FinCEN should also expand and make permanent the geographic targeting order (GTO) program to cover all real estate purchases, regardless of location in the US.

Read the full report: https://thesentry.org/reports/embezzled-empire

Visit the Congo Hold-up coalition hub: https://congoholdup.com

For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact: 

Greg Hittelman, Director of Communications, +1 310 717 0606, gh@thesentry.org

About The Sentry

The Sentry is an investigative and policy team that follows the dirty money connected to African war criminals and transnational war profiteers and seeks to shut those benefiting from violence out of the international financial system. By disrupting the cost-benefit calculations of those who hijack governments for self-enrichment, we seek to counter the main drivers of conflict and create new leverage for peace, human rights, and good governance. The Sentry is composed of financial investigators, international human rights lawyers, and regional experts, as well as former law enforcement agents, intelligence officers, policymakers, investigative journalists, and banking professionals. Co-founded by George Clooney and John Prendergast, The Sentry is a strategic partner of the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

South Sudan: Ebola Preparedness (July 2019)

Press Release 

From United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Dated 01 August 2019

South Sudan: Ebola Preparedness Dashboard (July 2019)

SITUATION UPDATE

At the end of July a total of 2,699 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) cases had been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 1,782 deaths (case fatality rate of 67 per cent). 

The risk of EVD spreading to South Sudan remained very high but there were no confirmed cases. 

Eleven alerts were reported and verified during the month, with results of laboratory testing using GeneXpert available within 48 hours.

Progress towards targets under the National EVD Preparedness Plan continued. 

The number of border points of entry providing screening reached 32, with over 304,000 primary screenings and over 300 secondary screenings conducted. 

Some 180 frontline workers from 8 organisations across the Yei area were vaccinated.

Preventive messages were broadcast through more than 2,300 radio spots, while over 400 key community influencers were engaged. 

The number of trained and equipped safe and dignified burial teams increased to 13. 

While additional funding contributions were under consideration, preparedness efforts remained underfunded with U$10.7 million still to be secured against planned requirements.

INFOGRAPHIC

from World Health Organization, Government of the Republic of South Sudan

Published on 23 Aug 2019 —

View Original

Download PDF (1.58 MB)

SOURCE:https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/south-sudan/infographic/south-sudan-ebola-preparedness-dashboard-july-2019

South Sudan: Dispels fears of Ebola outbreak

Article from Radio Tamazuj.org

Dated 07 July 2019 - Juba, South Sudan

South Sudan dispels fears of Ebola outbreak

File photo: WHO Uganda

South Sudan’s Ministry of Health has dispelled fears of an Ebola outbreak following a confirmed case in Aliwara, in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some 70 kilometers from the border.

Addressing reporters in Juba on Friday, the undersecretary in the health ministry, Makur Matur Koriom said South Sudan is safe from the Ebola virus.

"I would like to take the opportunity to assure the South Sudanese people and residents in this country that so far there is no Ebola in South Sudan," he said.

"We responded quickly and the national taskforce convened on that day and immediately informed the taskforce and our partners in Yei about the developments in the DRC," he added.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) officer in charge of health emergencies in South Sudan, Guracha Guyo said they are committed to improve Ebola preparedness mechanisms in the country.

"All of us are committed to support the government in its endeavor to make sure that the Ebola virus will be prevented from coming to South Sudan," he said.

According to the WHO official, more than 700 frontline healthcare workers have been provided with Ebola vaccines in Yei River State.

South Sudan suffered Ebola outbreak in 2004 after WHO reported 20 cases, including five deaths, from Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Yambio.

Ebola is a rare but deadly virus that causes fever, body aches, and diarrhea, and sometimes bleeding inside and outside the body.

SOURCE: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/south-sudan-dispels-fears-of-ebola-outbreak

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Photo: A worker from the World Health Organisation decontaminates the doorway of a house on a plot where two cases of Ebola were found, in the village of Mabalako, in eastern Congo, 17 June 2019.

South Sudan: On alert for Ebola virus

Article from Voice of America News.com

By DIMO SILVA AURELIO 

Dated 4 July 2019

South Sudan on High Alert for Ebola Virus

JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN - South Sudan’s health officials are ramping up efforts to prevent the deadly Ebola virus from entering the country following a confirmed case some 70 kilometers from the border, in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr. Pinyi Nyimol, South Sudan's director general for disease control and emergency response services, said the health ministry has sent seven personnel to the Yei River state, which borders Congo. "The aim is to strengthen the surveillance and preparedness for Ebola,” Nyimol told VOA's South Sudan in Focus.

“We are more worried because it is coming nearer because people are moving, so anybody, a contact can cross to South Sudan and the only thing we can do is to enhance our surveillance and screening and also to alert our health care workers about this and anybody coming, they have to start with traveling history and ask whether this person has been in DRC or not,” Nyimol said.

Photo: Ebola case reported not far from South Sudan border. Authorities have confirmed an Ebola case just 70 kilometres (43 miles) from Congo's border with South Sudan

The case was registered Tuesday in Ariwara, a trading center. The person, a 40-year-old woman, had traveled some 500 kilometers from Beni, in Congo's North Kivu province, according to Congolese officials.

North Kivu is an epicenter of the Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 1,500 people.  

Nyimol says it is the first confirmed case close to the South Sudan-DRC border since the outbreak erupted last August in eastern Congo.

He said for the last six months, South Sudan has been under high alert and increased its surveillance response at several border screening centers.

“We have points of entry doing screening at the high-risk states, we have Ebola treatment unit here in Juba and there is a laboratory and we have an ambulance ready for any suspect and there are trained staff and if there is a suspected case at Juba International Airport, it can be collected and taken for investigation; the same [is true] at the Juba Nimule border entry,” said Nyimol.

A number of people from the DRC cross into South Sudan’s Yei River State on a daily basis, according to South Sudanese health officials.

The Ebola virus is a deadly disease that affects humans and non-human primates.  Symptoms include unexplained bleeding, high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, and vomiting. The virus is spread through body fluids, such as the blood of an infected person.

SOURCE: https://www.voanews.com/africa/south-sudan-focus/south-sudan-high-alert-ebola-virus

DR Congo: Cholera cases tripled in some areas to 150 a week - UN (OCHA) N. Kivu Situation Report 13 Nov 2008 - Cholera increase in N. & S. Kivu

What are the symptoms of cholera? How is it transmitted? How do you treat it? See answers here below, courtesy of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).



UN (OCHA) North Kivu Situation Report 13 Nov 2008 - Cholera increase in North & South Kivu

Novembre 13, 2008 UN (OCHA) rapport de situation humanitaire au Nord-Kivu:

Les pillages se poursuivent au Sud Lubero;
2,000 personnes traversent la frontière vers l’Ouganda portant à 12 000 le total;
Les cas de choléra triplent dans la zone de santé de Goma depuis le mois d’Octobre.

Contexte politique et sécuritaire

Selon des sources locales à Kirumba et Kanyabayonga, les militaires FARDC, des éléments PARECO ainsi que des bandits ont pillé les deux cités dans la nuit du 12 au 13 novembre. Deux personnes ont été tuées à leur domicile à Kirumba et la cité de Kanyabayonga s’est de nouveau vidée de sa population. La Police Militaire affirme avoir arrêté 18 militaires la même nuit

Les localités de Rwindi, Kibirizi, Mirangi situées respectivement à 20 km, 17 km et 10 km de Kanyabayonga (Sud Lubero) sont désormais sous contrôle du CNDP.

Click here for full report. Photo d’archive/OCHA
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WHO & health partners lead massive cholera response in E. DRC

November 13, 2008 (Goma/Geneva):

The World Health Organization (WHO) and health partners have launched an intensive operation to prevent and control the increase in the number of cholera cases, which have tripled in some areas to 150 a week, amid the recent escalation of violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Insecurity, massive population displacement (at least 250 000 people since early August), weak health services and a lack of safe water and proper sanitation facilities have caused a marked increase in the number of people with cholera in North and South Kivu. As yet no data is available on the number of deaths linked to the current outbreak, but generally in complex emergencies the case (...)

Photo: Télécharger OCHA - Rapport de situation humanitaire au Nord-Kivu du 12 novembre 2008. Photo d’archive/OCHA www.rdc-humanitaire.net/f/
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Symptoms of cholera, how it is transmitted, how you treat it (MSF)

From an article dated 2006 at Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) website:

What are the symptoms of cholera?

Watery diarrhea and vomiting, according to the case definition we are using. When people show those symptoms they are hospitalized, even if they are not too severe, because we never know, they might develop a severe cholera very fast. In addition to the patients that come directly to the CTC, we have a team that visits the smaller Cholera Treatment Units (CTU) in town to identify potential cases. A lot of them arrive in a severe state due to the fact that cholera develops very fast and people loose a lot of fluids. A case can get severe just in a couple of days.

How is it transmitted?

Through the food, but mainly through contaminated water. This outbreak is really due to a problem of water and sanitation. It affects first of all the most vulnerable people, those living in the poorest areas, with poor water and sanitation conditions.

How do you treat it?

Most of the cases that are hospitalized need intravenous fluids and oral rehydration salts (ORS) in order to replace the fluids they have lost. Normally, with this simple treatment they should recover promptly. It is only when a patient does not get better after a few days that we give him antibiotic.

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Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - DRC 2008 Images

Each day during the current DRC crisis, MSF volunteers are providing specific images from the situation or work done in order to emphasize the conditions, work or simply the situation found on the ground by our staff.



Photo: A child with suspected cholera at the Don Bosco orphanage in Goma. About 40 cases of cholera have been treated by MSF here, where hundreds of displaced people have gathered. However most of these cholera patients come from Kibati. Nov 13, 2008 © Francois Dumont/MSF



Photo: Audio file attached Belgian nurse Laurence is organizing consultations at a mobile clinic in Karuba, Masisi district. Even though it is the first day of mobile clinics in the small health post of Karuba village, it is busy as more patients show up. Karuba has remained without medical assistance for months. Nov 12, 2008 © Francois Dumont/MSF



Photo: A child with suspected cholera on Saturday morning in Kibati. More and more suspected cholera patients are showing up at a health centre in KIbati. The existing structure was overwhelmed and other NGOs had suspended their activities. In a few hours, MSF installed a cholera treatment centre. On Sunday, shootings in Kibati caused panic and MSF was able to evacuate its more serious patients to Goma's general hospital. Nov 11, 2008 © Francois Dumont/MSF



Photo: On the open road in Kibati as people flee in panic as fighting is heard nearby. Nov 10, 2008 © Francois Dumont/MSF



Photo: It rains every day, now. It happens suddenly and people are caught in heavy, pouring rain and thunder. Roads that were filled just minutes before, empty and everyone scatters, desperate to find shelter under a tree, in a school or the local church. It rains for about 30 minutes then stops. The roads refill with people soon after. Nov 7, 2008 © Clio van Cauter/MSF



Photo: A father and his two manourished children, aged two and four, fled Rugari on Monday for Kibati. The father took the children and his wife along with some scant belongings. The walked almost 30 km and now they have no place to stay but have managed to stock their few belongings in a school. They have not eaten since Monday, apart from a few bananas. They sleep outside in the cold at night, and it rains everyday. The two boys, both malnourished, are coughing a lot. Nov 6, 2008 © Clio van Cauter/MSF



Photo: An MSF nurse is examining a child during MSF's mobile clinics in Kibati, about 15 km north from Goma. MSF teams have installed tents in Kibati where they carry out consultations and have provided 60,000 litres of clean water per day to the displaced population. Over the weekend MSF carried out over 100 consultations, mainly for malaria, respiratory infections and diahrreas. Now that other NGOs have started to return to the area, the number of consultations is decreasing. These diseases are directly linked to the dire conditions and the lack of hygiene where the displaced have been forced to live. It is estimated that up to 40,000 displaced people have sought refuge in Kibati. Nov 5, 2008 © Francois Dumont/MSF



Photo: A displaced child in Kibati, around 15 km north of Goma. Following the latest wave of violence, about 40,000 people have found refuge in and around Kibati, a village on volcanic rock. Most people here have been repeatedly displaced and are now living either with host families, in schools or under makeshift shelters made up of plastic sheets. MSF has been running mobile clinics in Kibati, mostly treating malaria and infections. MSF teams also vaccinate young children against measles and provide access to clean water in order to prevent outbreaks. Nov 4, 2008 © Francois Dumont/MSF

Source: Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF): Rue de Lausanne 78 - CP 116 - 1211 - Geneva 21 - SWITZERLAND Tel: +41 (22) 849.84.00 - Fax: +41 (22) 849.84.04

Congo Watchers: The Republic of the Congo should not not be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo ("Congo-Kinshasa") is an African country to the east of the Congo River.

Not to be confused with the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: République démocratique du Congo), often referred to as DR Congo, DRC or RDC, and formerly known or referred to as Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire (or Zaïre in French), is the third largest country by area in Africa.

Though it is located in the Central African UN subregion, the nation is economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

It borders the Central African Republic and Sudan on the North; Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi on the East; Zambia and Angola on the South; the Republic of the Congo on the West; and is separated from Tanzania by Lake Tanganyika on the East.

The country enjoys access to the ocean through a 40-kilometre (25 mile) stretch of Atlantic coastline at Muanda and the roughly nine-kilometre wide mouth of the Congo river which opens into the Gulf of Guinea.

The name "Congo" (meaning "hunter") is coined after the Bakongo ethnic group who live in the Congo River basin.

Formerly the Belgian colony of the Belgian Congo, the country's post-independence name was the Republic of the Congo until August 1, 1964, when its name was changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo (to distinguish it from the neighboring Republic of the Congo).

On October 27, 1971, then-President Mobutu renamed the country Zaire, from a Portuguese mispronunciation of the Kikongo word nzere or nzadi, which translates to "the river that swallows all rivers."

Following the First Congo War which led to the overthrow of Mobutu in 1997, the country was renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.

From 1998 to 2003, the country suffered greatly from the devastating Second Congo War (sometimes referred to as the "African World War"). This was the world's deadliest conflict since World War II. Related fighting continues in the east of the country. (Source: Wikipedia)



Photo: Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia)



Photo: Coat of Arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia)
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Not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville or the Congo, is an African country to the west of the Congo River.

It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.

The republic is a former French colony. Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. Congo became a multi-party democracy in 1992. However, a brief civil war in 1997 ended in the restoration of former President Denis Sassou Nguesso to power.



Photo: Flag of the Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia)



Photo: Coat of Arms of the Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia)
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Do not confuse Republic of the Congo with the DR Congo

Some news reporters refer to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Congo.

Here is a good example. The following map, taken from a recent New York Times report entitled:

Many Flee as Congo Rebels Approach Eastern City: GOMA, Congo - The exodus has begun.



Compare the above map from the NYT with this one from IRIN.



Note the error in the NYT map, and the error in the title of the NYT report: Many Flee as Congo Rebels Approach Eastern City: GOMA, Congo - The exodus has begun. What a shame. Here are some superb but distressingly sad photos from the report.



Photo: Congolese tanks pulled back toward Goma after a day of battle with the forces of Laurent Nkunda, a renegade general. Some soldiers have already fled the fighting. (Karel Prinsloo/Associated Press 30 Oct 2008 via NYT)



Photo: Congolese soldiers carried one of their wounded. The rebels have been kept at bay before, but they appear stronger now. (Waler Astrada/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 30 Oct 2008 via NYT)



Photo: Children waited for food to be cooked at a makeshift camp for displaced people near the village of Kibati. (Karel Prinsloo/Associated Press Agency 30 Oct 2008 via NYT)



Photo: Displaced Congolese line up to get water from a tanker in the town of Kibati. Sarah Elliott/European Pressphoto Agency 30 Oct 2008 via NYT)

Photo source: New York Times report By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN October 29, 2008 - Many Flee as Congo Rebels Approach Eastern City: GOMA, Congo - The exodus has begun - Neil MacFarquhar contributed reporting from the United Nations.

YouTube video: Rumangabo Fighting - Rebels seize DRC's Virunga National Park HQ at Rumangabo

Map source: (www.gorilla.cd) Sunday 26 October 2008 report by Emmanuel - Congo Rebels Seize Park HQ at Rumangabo After Intense Fighting - excerpt:

Fighting at Rumangabo started at 0400 today between the rebels of Laurent Nkunda and the army. It has now totally engulfed the park station and our Rangers have been forced to flee into the forests for their lives. The rebels now are the only occupants of the park station at Rumangabo. This has never happened before.

This is a serious time. We need to get our 50+ Rangers back to safety in Goma, 45km south of Rumangabo. The main road is blocked because of the fighting so they are walking through the forests of the park south, to Kibumba, about 20km away, where we aim to pick them up in trucks. We are trying to maintain phone contact but they don’t have much battery life in their phones.



We also need to organize for them to stay in the camp in Goma - with their families. We need to get more food, fast.
If you would like to help toward supporting the Rangers in this crisis please donate in the sidebar to the right. You can make an open donation or you can donate using the Support For Ranger Evactuation from Virunga button. Thank you.
We will be issuing a press release shortly that will give you more information but for now I wanted you all to be aware of this.

YouTube video of Rumangabo Fighting. Rebels seized Virunga National Park HQ at Rumangabo after intense fighting.

DRC crisis prompts peace talks - Channel 4 News' Jonathan Miller has been out to the rebel front line

Today's Snowmail just in from Channel 4 News, UK - excerpt:

Congo crisis prompts peace talks

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo is our main story today.

More than a quarter of a million people have been forced from their homes in and around the eastern town of Goma and although a rebel ceasefire is holding, aid agencies are warning of a looming catastrophe unless a long term solution is found soon.

In an effort to find a diplomatic route to that solution, Britain's David Miliband and France's Bernard Kouchner have arrived for talks with the leaders of Congo and of Rwanda. Rwanda is thought to be tacitly supporting the rebels.

Our correspondent Jonathan Miller has been out to the rebel front line, and to one of the overflowing refugee camps where he witnessed food being handed out to the desperately hungry people there.

Watch last night's report: http://tinyurl.com/5dn5fw