Africa

• 14 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - “There is a silent genocide taking place in east Congo, right before our very eyes,” say Congolese Bishops, in an urgent plea to the international community Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The Bishops of the Permanent Committee of the Congolese Bishops' Conference (CENCO) have issued a “cry of grief and protest,” saying that they are “disturbed and overcome by the human t ...
• 14 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - “Indescribable and often unknown damage”: testimony of the Bishop of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, now in the hands of rebels Goma (Agenzia Fides) – There seems to be a break in the fighting in North Kivu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo) taking place between the Congolese army and rebels led by Laurent Nkunda, who have concentrated thei ...
• 13 November 2008
  AFRICA/SUDAN - Sudanese President announces ceasefire in Darfour, however rebels do not comply Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - “I hereby announce our immediate unconditional ceasefire between the armed forces and the warring factions, provided that an effective monitoring mechanism is put into action and observed by ...
• 12 November 2008
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - “I have reason to believe that the two Sisters' kidnappers are only vandals,” the Bishop of Djibouti tells Fides Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “I know that area of the Kenyan-Somalian border quite well and I knew the two nuns who were kidnapped from the mission in El-Wak,” Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, Apostolic Administrator of ...
• 12 November 2008
  AFRICA/ZAMBIA - “We wish to take up the testimony left by the missionaries, to continue spreading the Gospel, in communion with the Universal Church,” the PMS Director of Zambia tells Fides Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “ We wish to take up the testimony left by the missionaries, to continue spreading the Gospel, in communion with the Universal Church,” says Fr. Bernard Macadani Zulu, National Director of the ...
• 11 November 2008
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - Uncertainty as to the whereabouts of two Italian religious sisters kidnapped in Kenya by Somalian gunmen Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) – The two religious sisters who were kidnapped on November 10 in El Wak, a Kenyan town on the border with Somalia, were supposedly taken to Garbahaarey, a small Somali town 175 kilometers away ...
• 11 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - As humanitarian crisis continues in North Kivo, the Archbishop of Bukavu asks leading powers to cease their interference, as it only adds to tensions in Congo Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – It seems that the fragil truce declared by rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is being kept, however the humanitarian crisis remains seri ...
• 10 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - 1,100 women and children have been taken in by a VIS (International Volunteer Program for Development) camp in downtown Goma. The Salesian NGO's Press Office Director shares her testimony with Fides. Goma (Agenzia Fides) - “The humanitarian crisis is of drastic proportions, as the fighting brings more and more people into Goma,” Fides was informed by Giulia Pigliucci, of the Press Office of the NGO “VIS” (Int ...
• 10 November 2008
  AFRICA/CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - "There is a need to recover the elements of African tradition that are compatible with the Catholic faith, in order to promote a new evangelization,” PMS National Director tells Agenzia Fides Rome (Agenzia Fides) – “Our country is very large (with a surface area of 622,984 km²) and has a fairly small population (3,600,000 inhabitants), located in the center of Africa. This is one of the main reasons behi ...
• 7 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Fides learns of dramatic testimonies from the humanitarian crisis in Kivu Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “The humanitarian situation in North Kivu is one of catastrophic proportions,” Fr. Sylvestre, Director of the Radio Maria “Queen of Peace” in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu. “We ar ...
• 7 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Summit in Nairobi opens in search of a solution to the North Kivu crisis, as conflict continues Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Today in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the Summit of the Great Lakes Countries will begin. The participants will discuss the war taking place in North Kivu, in northeastern Congo. The Summit ...
• 6 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - North Kivu: the Universal Church takes measures to help the peoples affected by the conflict Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Church is taking measures to help the people of the war-torn area of North Kivu. “Is history repeating itself? Are we up against another episode of genocide? The images are not ...
• 6 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - “There are 1,600,000 people in North Kivu at risk for starvation in the coming months,” says a missionary in Bukavu Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “The humanitarian tragedy in North Kivu will last even longer. The rainy season has come and the fields that should be tilled and sown are abandoned. There are 1,600,000 people who rely on in ...
• 5 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Amidst war and propaganda, Kivu continues to suffer; Kinshasa sends in the Mai Mai militia to fight rebels Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Nkunda's rebels have taken over Rutshuru (in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), where they are trying to give an impression of normality, allowing humanitarian aid to reach the local peop ...
• 4 November 2008
  AFRICA/ERITREA - Capuchin Poor Clares are working closely alongside the people of Eritrea, in concrete aid and prayer Asmara (Agenzia Fides) – In 1973, the Capuchin Fathers who had been present in Eritrea for some time, with a flourishing province, made a petition asking that a contemplative monastery of Capuchin Poor Clares be establ ...