Hundreds of militia fighters raid army base in eastern Congo; 53 dead
Hundreds of militiamen carried out a nighttime raid on a Congolese army camp, setting off gunbattles that killed 52 rebel fighters and one soldier, an army spokesman said Sunday. The Saturday night raid came as the country prepares to hold its first countrywide election in decades at the end of July. Congo is struggling to regain peace after years of dictatorship and war. Sporadic fighting continues in the east, where militiamen control large areas, and United Nations troops based in the country say they are planning military operations to try to secure those areas before the vote. Full Story