Latest from Carl in K-town

Heavy shootings were heard in Nyabushongo (west of Goma town) when police and army tried jointly to disperse rioters following stabbing of a young man by a neighbour because that one used his private latrine without permission. The stabbed man is admitted in DOCS (Doctors on Call for Service) for emergency care. Revengeful angry mobs destroyed who houses before torching the rest of the buildings.
An appeals court in Bas-Congo has called on the DRC's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to organize a second round of polls for the positions of governor and vice governor of the province. The first round of polls to the positions of governor and vice governor for the two Kasai have been rescheduled for Thursday, February 15.

The Mission has deployed a mobile operations unit to South Kivu, which has been beset by unrest even since the formal end of the country's civil war in 1999, to help maintain public order. Military Operations Commander in Ituri district announced that FNI militiamen have fled deeper in Katanga forest instead of surrendering to the army for quick integration.

A miner found a 143-carat diamond in a river in Congo and sold it for $1.4 million, an official said Saturday. Amos Maseko discovered the stone in a river near Banalia, 129 km north of Kisangani, where usually only diamonds of between one and three carats are to be found, the president of the Congolese Federation of Gold and Diamonds, John Tokole told UN radio Okapi. The diamond was cheaply sold to a Lebanese subject because its real value is supposed to $4 million by officials contradicting Kisangani governor who was involved in the deal. Rudimentary mining attracts many minors to resorb unemployment. Those mining sites attract also children, drug consumers and mafia dealers; the main cause of unrest in such places.

A Border Security Force contingent will on Tuesday leave on a peacekeeping mission to Congo. The contingent, consisting of seven officers and fourteen subordinating officers, will be stationed in Lubumbashi and will assist in restoration of law and order for creating a conducive atmosphere for holding of elections.

The choice of Lubumbashi is probably related to illegal mining, mineral smuggle including cobalt and uranium.