Agricultural officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recorded at least 260 chickens and ducks suspected of having died of the avian flu, Agriculture Minister Constant Ndom Nda said on Thursday.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has transferred a militia leader to the International Criminal Court in the Hague to face war crimes charges.

Elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are a near certainty, despite the obstacles that threaten a smooth transition to democracy. What is largely uncertain, however, is how stable the country will be in the aftermath of the polls.

Before colonialism in Africa, community life centred on ethnic customs and culture. In pre-colonial Congo, people lived under the authority of a traditional chief, in observance of these cultural norms.

Registration offices for candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential and legislative elections opened on Friday in the capital, Kinshasa.

During a nine-day working visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo which began on 6 March, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno, spoke to IRIN in Kinshasa about security concerns for a peaceful run of a general election on 18 June. Following are excerpts of that interview on 9 March.

Some 1,000 people have arrived in the southern suburbs of Bunia, the main town of Ituru District, fleeing fighting approximately 50 km farther south, according to local officials.

European Union defense ministers are meeting in Innsbruck, Austria Monday to try to bolster support for an EU military peacekeeping force in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The heads of three United Nations agencies, who are on a joint mission to Africa's Great Lakes region, have identified the alleviation of human suffering, security and protection of vulnerable people as some of the issues vital to stability and peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Hundreds of civilians have been displaced by fighting between United Nations-supported government troops and militiamen in the northeastern province of Orientale in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bunia, Ituri District.