- The Rwanda court has ruled out an urgent application by lawyers of the former rebel leader Laurent Nkunda that he was illegally held in Gisenyi by the Rwandan soldiers.
Mr Nkunda who is currently under house arrest in Rwanda, was arrested on 22 January on the Rwandan territory after trying to resist an arrest by the joint Rwandan-Congolese operation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr Nkunda's lawyer, Stephane Bourgon argued that if the Rwandan government does not formally charge Mr Nkuda, he should be released, vowing to appeal his detention in the country. Mr Nkunda is reportedly accused of committing various crimes during his five-year eastern rebellion.
The lawyer further deplored the fact that he never had access to his client, Mr Nkunda, since his arrest early this year.
The Congolese government has been seeking the extradition of General Nkunda since his arrest early this year, however, the Rwandan government has been reluctant to release him to DRC fearing possible rights violations and unfair trial.
Mr Nkunda, who was ousted as leader of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) in January had claimed to be fighting to protect the region's ethnic Tutsi minority from Hutu militias that took refuge there after participating in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.
The CNDP launched a major offensive against the government troops and other armed groups in the eastern DRC in August 2008.
The upsurge in fighting in North Kivu province bordering Rwanda and growing involvement of neighbouring states in a move to end the conflict had raised fears of a repeat of the 1998 to 2003 DRC war.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español