Four detained for attending peace meeting

Four people were detained on Sunday on their return to Kinshasa from a peace meeting in South Africa in which DRC rebel representatives participated. According to The Associated Press, the four - two journalists, a politician and a women’s rights activist - were taken to security headquarters for questioning. The South African meeting organised by the conflict resolution group Accord brought together representatives from 17 DRC political parties and civil society groups. The DRC government had refused an invitation to attend.

Meanwhile, the DRC human rights group ASADHO said on Friday it was deeply concerned over the detention for the past nine months of 18 foreign nationals who had sought refuge in the country. An ASADHO statement received by IRIN said the 18 - six Angolans and 12 Congo-Brazzaville citizens - were believed to belong to opposition movements in their respective countries. They had entered the DRC seeking protection as refugees. The statement said they had been denied contact with family and lawyers and appealed to the government to release or charge them.