The national unity government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced on Saturday that it would be taking a number of measures to fight increases in crime in the capital, Kinshasa, as well as in other cities across the vast central African country. This would include the dispatch of reinforced and mixed patrols comprising elements of all former belligerents – the former Kinshasa government; the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) and other former rebel movements; and the Mayi-Mayi militias – Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa said at a news conference in the capital, Kinshasa. Ruberwa, leader of RCD-Goma – now party to the Congo’s two-year power-sharing transitional government – is responsible for the defence and security portfolios in his capacity as one of four vice-presidents of the new government. “The government has decided to disarm all those illegally in possession of firearms, and to resolve the problem of payment of police and soldiers” in an effort to reduce criminal acts by the latter under the pretext that they have not been paid, Ruberwa said. He reported that the crime rate in the capital had risen considerably, with at least one instance of murder being reported daily in Kinshasa. Full Story
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