"Russia’s ‘Future’ Depends on Troops in Ukraine" - President Putin

MOSCOW, Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a combative speech Tuesday attacking the West and claiming that Russia’s future depended on the outcome of the war in Ukraine as he attended a military parade on Red Square to mark Victory Day. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Victory Day parade in Moscow.

“Civilization again finds itself at a decisive, critical moment. A real war has again been launched against our motherland,” Putin told the assembled soldiers and guests. 

“We are proud of the participants of the Special Military Operation and everyone who is fighting on the frontline,” he said, using the Kremlin’s preferred term for Russia’s war in Ukraine.  

“There is nothing more important now than your military work. Today, the security of our country depends on you. The future of our statehood and our people depends on you.”

While the military parade passed off without incident, Russia’s Victory Day celebrations this year have been drastically scaled down because of heightened security concerns following a drone attack on the Kremlin last week and what is believed to be an imminent Ukrainian counter-offensive.  

The Kremlin has traditionally used Victory Day — a national holiday — for bombastic celebrations that promote patriotic unity and showcase the country’s military might.

But a string of defeats in Ukraine and the expected counter-attack by Kyiv’s forces mean this year’s event — the second since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022 — has been one of the most muted in Putin’s two-decade rule. 

Military parades have been canceled in over 20 Russian cities and not a single Immortal Regiment march — held in memory of those killed in World War II and usually attended by millions — will take place.

Despite the security issues, the Russian president was joined on Red Square by seven leaders of former Soviet republics: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow. 

The attendance of six of these leaders was announced Monday after what appeared to be a last minute effort by the Kremlin to rally international support. 

Only Kyrgyzstan’s Japarov had confirmed his attendance in advance. 

Standing in front of military veterans and men in military uniform, Putin delivered a speech in which he conflated the current war in Ukraine with the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazism in 1945 and attacked the West. 

“The Western globalist elite are still asserting their exceptionalism, playing off people against each other and dividing societies,” Putin said.  

“They are provoking bloody conflicts and coups, they are sowing hatred, Russophobia and aggressive nationalism, they are destroying traditional family values that make a human a human.”

The military parade across Red Square featured thousands of Russian troops and equipment, including Russia’s Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system and the S-400 surface-to-air missile system. 

Unlike previous years, there was no military fly-past. 

After 14 months of fighting in Ukraine, Russia has little to show for its military campaign, with troops failing to take control of the disputed eastern city of Bakhmut, its military leadership riven by conflict and Kyiv preparing to go on the offensive. 

Russia fired 25 missiles at targets in Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which said that 23 of the missiles were destroyed by air defense systems.

Factbox: Who are Sudan's Rapid Support Forces?

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Here are some facts about Sudan’s main paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, which said on Saturday, April 15, it had taken control of the presidential palace and the country’s international airport in an apparent coup attempt. 

It accused the army of attacking first; the military said it was fighting back.

The RSF is commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who currently holds the position of deputy head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, and who is commonly known as Hemedti. Analysts estimate the force numbers about 100,000, with bases and deployments across the country.

It evolved from so-called janjaweed militias that fought in a conflict in the 2000s in the Darfur region, where they were used by the government of long-ruling President Omar al-Bashir to help the army put down a rebellion. An estimated 2.5 million people were displaced and 300,000 killed in the conflict. International Criminal Court prosecutors accused government officials and janjaweed commanders of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Over time the forces grew, and were used as border guards in particular to clamp down on irregular migration. In tandem, Hemedti’s business interests grew with help from Bashir, and his family expanded holdings in gold mining, livestock, and infrastructure.

Beginning in 2015, the RSF, along with Sudan’s army, began sending troops to fight in the war in Yemen alongside Saudi and Emirati troops, allowing Hemedti to forge ties with the Gulf powers.

In 2017, a law legitimizing the RSF as an independent security force was passed. Military sources said that the army’s leadership had long expressed concern about the development of Hemedti’s forces.

In April 2019, the RSF participated in a military coup that ousted Bashir. Later that year, Hemedti signed a power-sharing agreement that made him deputy of a ruling council headed by army general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Before the signing in 2019, activists accused the RSF of participating in killing dozens of pro-democracy protesters. Rights groups have also accused RSF soldiers of tribal violence. Hemedti removed immunity from some, allowing for their prosecution. Last year, he apologized for crimes by the state against the Sudanese people, without elaborating.

The RSF participated in a coup in October 2021 that halted the transition to elections. Hemedti has since said he regrets the coup and has expressed approval for a new deal to restore full civilian government.

The Sudanese army as well as pro-democracy groups have demanded the RSF’s integration into the regular armed forces.

Negotiations on this have been a source of tension that has delayed a final signing of a deal, originally scheduled for April 1, for a new government and a transition towards elections. 

Protesters storm court as legal challenge opens against Nigeria presidential election result

ABUJA, Nigeria

A number of protesters stormed the appeal court in Abuja, Nigeria's capital on Monday to express their concern about the outcome of the election result but were restrained from gaining entrance to the court by security operatives.

"We are here calling on the judiciary to give Nigerians justice," says protest leader Orngu Angwu. As the country grapples with widespread insecurity, economic woes and growing poverty, many Nigerians had hoped the presidential ballot would bring about change but many were disappointed by the way the election was conducted.

On Monday, a panel of five Nigerian judges sat for a pre-hearing session in the trial involving opposition leaders contesting the February election won by the ruling party.

Since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of military rule, elections have always ended up in court, though no challenge has ever overturned results.

Petitions contesting the victory of Bola Tinubu were filed in March by several presidential candidates including the main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar who came second and outsider Peter Obi who was third.

The court has 180 days from when the petitions were filed to issue a judgment, which can then be appealed at the supreme court.

No major decision was expected on Monday.

Abubakar, who was on his sixth bid for the presidency, claimed in his petition that he won the February 25 election.

Both he and Obi claimed that results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were invalid due to "non-compliance" with electoral laws and "corrupt practices".

Abubakar, known in Nigeria as "Atiku", also claimed in his petition of 223 pages that Tinubu failed to score the legal threshold of 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory.

In his own petition, Obi, who had gained mass support from Nigeria's youth, also claimed to have won the election.

In a 100-page petition, he also claimed that Tinubu was "not qualified to contest" due to his involvement in an alleged drug-related case in the US.

The president-elect has denied any wrongdoing during his time living in the US, and both he and his party have rejected claims from the opposition of electoral fraud, appealing for unity.

The INEC has recognised "glitches" during the February vote but has dismissed claims that the process was not free and fair.

The ongoing court battle is unlikely to disrupt the swearing-in of Tinubu on May 29, who will succeed Muhammadu Buhari after two terms in office.

As the country grapples with widespread insecurity, economic woes and growing poverty, many Nigerians had hoped the presidential ballot would bring about change but many were disappointed by the way the election was conducted.

Former Burundi premier in court on security charges

BUJUMBURA, Burundi

Burundi's powerful former prime minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni (pictured) appeared in court on Monday accused of undermining national security and insulting the president, a judicial source and witnesses said. 

Bunyoni was prime minister from mid-2020 to September 2022 but was fired in a high-level political purge after President Evariste Ndayishimiye took office.

A former police chief and minister of internal security, he was replaced by then interior minister Gervais Ndirakobuca, days after Ndayishimiye had warned of a "coup" plot against him.

He was arrested last month in the city of Bujumbura on the eve of his 51st birthday.

"Everyone was surprised to see him arrive handcuffed," a witness told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that he was clad in the green uniforms worn by Burundian prisoners.

Monday's session held before a council chamber extended his pre-trial detention at Ngozi Prison in the north of the country, a judicial source who asked for anonymity to discuss the case told AFP. 

The former premier was charged on Friday before a three-judge high court in a closed session, the source added. 

Bunyoni is accused of "undermining the internal security of the state, undermining the proper functioning of the national economy and illegal enrichment", according to court documents seen by AFP. 

He is also facing charges of illegal possession of weapons and insulting the president.

A close ally of former president Pierre Nkurunziza, Bunyoni was an influential senior figure in the ruling CNDD-FDD party.

He was seen as the head of a cabal of military leaders known as "the generals" who wielded the true political power in Burundi and the president himself had alluded to his isolation in a 2021 speech.

Ndayishimiye took power in June 2020 after Nkurunziza died of what the Burundian authorities said was heart failure amid widespread speculation he succumbed to Covid-19.

He has been hailed by the international community for slowly ending years of Burundi's isolation under Nkurunziza's chaotic and bloody rule.

But he has failed to improve a wretched record on human rights and the country of 12 million people remains one of the poorest on the planet. 

Burundi had been under US and EU sanctions over a bloody crisis that erupted in 2015 when Nkurunziza made a controversial bid for a third term in office.

The turmoil claimed the lives of 1,200 Burundians and saw 400,000 flee the country.

Sudanese army leader open for political solution, with condition

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese Army’s Commander-in-Chief has expressed his support for a political resolution to the ongoing conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on the condition that it includes the withdrawal of the militiamen from residential areas and public facilities in Khartoum.

General Abdel Fattahl-Burhan

Under the auspice of a joint -U.S.-Saudi mediation, the two warring parties in Sudan began talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the goal of ending urban warfare in Khartoum and resuming the political process towards establishing civilian rule in Sudan.

In an interview with Al-Qahera News channel on Monday, Abdel Fattahl-Burhan stressed the necessity of evacuating the paramilitary forces from residential neighbourhoods and service facilities, making it a precondition for accepting the ceasefire with the Rapid Support Forces.

“The ceasefire must be accompanied by the opening of roads and the evacuation of hospitals, public utilities, and other service centres such as electricity and water stations, in addition to residential neighbourhoods.”

He further reiterated the importance of finding a peaceful resolution to the crisis, highlighting the significant damage caused by military operations and the challenge of dealing with militias within residential areas and public facilities.

Rapid Support Forces leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (C)

“We remain hopeful that a peaceful solution will bring an end to this situation,” he said before adding “We are committed to refraining from engaging in any fight with individuals who evacuate these residential neighbourhoods and relocate to camps as long as this process is part of a genuine dialogue aimed at resolving this crisis”.

He emphasized the significance of international pressure to bring the leadership of the Rapid Support Forces to withdraw its fighters from residential neighbourhoods in Khartoum and some Darfur states.

On April 15th, clashes erupted between the two parties in the southern region of Khartoum.

Both sides accused the other of initiating the attack, following unsuccessful negotiations on the integration of the Rapid Support Forces into the Sudanese army. - SudanTribune

China expels Canadian diplomat in tit-for-tat response

BEIJING, China

China has announced the expulsion of a Canadian diplomat in retaliation for Ottawa’s ordering a Chinese consular official to leave over alleged threats he made against a Canadian lawmaker and his family.

FILE - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a panel discussion at the Global Citizen NOW Summit on April 27, 2023, in New York. Trudeau's government is expelling a Chinese diplomat whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong. (Courtesy)

The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said China was deploying a “reciprocal countermeasure to Canada’s unscrupulous move,” which it said it “firmly opposes.”

It said the Canadian diplomat based in the business hub of Shanghai has been asked to leave by May 13 and that China “reserves the right to take further actions in response.”

Canada earlier on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expelling a Chinese diplomat whom Canada’s spy agency alleged was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong.

A senior government official said Toronto-based diplomat Zhao Wei has five days to leave the country.

20 bodies found in Congo mass grave, ADF rebels suspected

BENI, Congo

The remains of at least 20 people were found buried in a mass grave in an area used to cultivate cacao in Ndoma village in Congo’s North Kivu province this weekend, according to local authorities and a military spokesperson.

A team of forensic and security officers exhumed the bodies after residents of villages in Beni territory found bones and clothing and alerted officials.

Until earlier this year, the area had been under the control of the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, a rebel militia with links to the Islamic State group. The area is now controlled by the Congolese army.

Muyisa Kambale Sindani, representative of nearby Kilya village, said Saturday that the remains were reburied “with dignity and security.”

He confirmed that bones of at least 20 people were found, but that it wasn’t possible to search further because of a lack of security in the region.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long the bodies had been there.

Eastern Congo has been plagued by violence for decades as more than 120 armed groups fight for power, influence and resources and some to protect their communities.

The ADF attacks have concentrated on North Kivu province, but the group has recently extended its operations into neighboring Ituri province and to areas near the regional capital, Goma, in South Kivu.

The rebels are accused by the U.N. and rights groups of targeting, maiming, raping and abducting civilians, including children. Capt. Anthony Mwalushayi, regional spokesperson for the Congolese army said the area had been an ADF stronghold.

“There are innocent people who have been buried here. This is really a mass grave, “ he said, but noted that among the bones that were found, there were military insignias.

Mwalushayi pledged authorities would investigate and bring those responsible to justice.

Local residents are demanding more protection from the government but also justice.

“We demand justice to be done so that the perpetrators of this massacre answer for their actions and set an example for other rebels to stop killing us unfairly” said Richard Kakule, a farmer from Ndoma. After the forensic and experts collected the remains and placed them in white body bags, locals organized a small ceremony and sang while burying the bodies with their own hands. ADF rebels have been active in eastern Congo for decades and have killed thousands in the region since they resurfaced in 2013.

Earlier this year, the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for information that could lead to the capture of the group’s leader, Seka Musa Baluku.

Malian political coalition opposes constitutional referendum

BAMAKO, Mali

A number of political associations in Mali have joined forces to oppose the military government’s decision to hold a referendum on a new constitution on June 18.

The referendum, announced on Friday, is a milestone on the country’s path towards elections promised for February after a coup three years earlier. The referendum had been previously scheduled for March 19 but was postponed.

The coalition is demanding the cancellation of the decree to convene the electoral bodies because it considers the ruling authorities illegitimate, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported.

The group also points out that “more than two-thirds of the territory [is] being plunged into generalised insecurity”, according to RFI.

Mali is in the throes of an 11-year security crisis, triggered by a regional revolt in the north that developed into a full-blown rebellion. Frustration that French troops, who had been in the country since 2013, could not root out the rebels led to rising anti-French sentiment.

That and military rule in the country led to soured relations with France, the country’s traditional ally and former coloniser, and closer ties with Russia.

In April 2021, the interim government set up by army colonels, announced that a referendum would be held that October.

Within weeks, that government was swept aside in a coup, and Colonel Assimi Goita was named the transitional president.

Analysts said there could be multiple challenges to holding the referendum, from attacks on voting stations to logistical issues like registration of voters.

There has also been opposition to the referendum from some Muslim religious figures, rebel groups in the north and a section of civil society, who do not support the mention of a secular state in the draft.

Goita has issued “very firm instructions” for the referendum to have all the necessary logistical, financial and security support, a government spokesperson said when the referendum was announced last week.

The referendum campaign will run from June 2-16. Voters will have to respond with a “yes” or a “no” to the question: Do you approve of the draft constitution?

Uhuru says optimistic Of peace restoration in Eastern DRC

BUJUMBURA, Burundi

Retired Kenya president, Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed hope that the ongoing process will ultimately bring peace to the region and that the displaced persons are able to go back to their homes and farms.

Kenyatta is the Facilitator of the EAC - led Nairobi Peace Process in the Restoration of Peace and Stability in the Eastern DRC. 

Speaking on Monday to members of the press after he paid a courtesy call to Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye at the State House in Bujumbura, Kenyatta stated the importance of peace in the region, pointing out that for people to engage in trade with each other, peace must prevail.

"This is the only way to bring development and prosperity to the entire region, but that is not possible without peace,” Kenyatta emphasised.

Kenyatta and Ndayishimiye discussed and deliberated on various issues, concerning the region and the outcomes of the 11th Summit of the Regional Oversight and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region, held on May 6 in Burundi.

The two leaders also discussed the possibility of an upcoming East African Summit geared towards the process of restoration of peace in the DRC.

"We were looking at the possibility of an upcoming East African Summit to further deliberate on the issues discussed yesterday all towards restoring Peace in the DRC, especially the eastern part", the former president said.

Kenyatta was in Burundi for a two-day visit where he attended the 11th Summit of the Regional Oversight and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region.

He also presented his report to Heads of State on the progress and recommendations for the next important steps of the Nairobi-led peace process during a closed-door session.

No progress in Saudi Sudan peace talks

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

Air strikes again shook Sudan's capital Monday while the latest truce talks in Jeddah have yielded no progress, with a Saudi diplomat saying both sides consider themselves "capable of winning the battle."

A Saudi diplomat told AFP on Monday that "no major progress is achieved so far."

"A permanent ceasefire isn't on the table. Every side believes it is capable of winning the battle," the diplomat added.

The U.N.'s top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Jeddah on Sunday intending to meet representatives of both camps, though his role in the process is unclear.

A spokesperson for Griffiths said on Sunday that he had arrived in Jeddah "to engage in humanitarian issues related to Sudan."

A separate U.N. official said on Monday that Griffiths had "asked to join the negotiations" but that his request had not been approved so far.

The talks "will continue in the following days," the Saudi foreign ministry said, without specifying a clear timeline.

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), sent representatives to the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on Saturday for meetings that Washington and Riyadh have described as "pre-negotiation talks."

Goals include reaching "an effective short-term halt" to the fighting, facilitating aid delivery, restoring basic services and setting "a timetable for expanded negotiations to reach a permanent cessation of hostilities," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement Monday.

The two sides have "begun to discuss the security measures they should take in order to facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid and the restoration of essential services," the statement said.

Multiple truce deals have been declared, without effect, since fighting erupted on April 15 in the poverty-stricken country with a history of instability.

Fierce combat has killed hundreds of people, wounded thousands and sparked multiple warnings of a "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis.

More than 100,000 people have already fled the country.

Saudi Arabia has assumed a major role in evacuations from Sudan, dispatching naval and commercial vessels to bring thousands of people from numerous countries across the Red Sea from the Sudanese coastal city of Port Sudan.

On Sunday, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed $100 million to be donated for assistance to Sudan, including medical aid and help for displaced people, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Saudi officials will also organize a public donations campaign "to mitigate the effects of the conditions that the Sudanese people are currently going through," the agency said.

In a Sunday meeting, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan thanked the Saudi crown prince, the kingdom's de facto ruler, "for the support Saudi Arabia has provided to U.S. citizens during the evacuation from Sudan," the White House said in a statement.

Nigeria court hears opposition’s presidential vote challenge

ABUJA, Nigeria 

A Nigerian court on Monday began its hearing on separate suits filed by the opposition to challenge the incumbent party’s victory in the country’s presidential election.

The presidential tribunal at the Court of Appeal in the capital, Abuja, heard the opening statements of lawyers representing opposition parties, which are the challenging the outcome of the February vote won by Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

As the court hearing began, armed security personnel blocked major access roads and prevented a handful of journalists and lawyers from entering the facility. 

Some protesters waved Nigerian flags and displayed placards, alleging that the electoral process was flawed.

"Why I am demonstrating is because of the anger and the pain I have as a Nigerian not allowed to express and enjoy the resources of the land,” said protester James Mike, who accused the Nigerian political class of pilfering the country’s wealth from huge mineral and crude oil resources.

Nigeria’s election commission declared Tinubu the winner of the election in a televised broadcast after he garnered 37% of the votes. But the two main opposition candidates rejected the result, questioning Tinubu’s qualification and alleging that results from the country’s 177,000 polling stations were tampered with.

Analysts and observers said that the voting on Feb. 25 was largely an improvement from Nigeria’s previous elections, but said that delays in uploading results might have given room for the figures to be tampered with.

In separate petitions, both second-place finisher Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and No. 3 finisher Peter Obi of the Labour Party argued that Nigeria’s electoral commission violated the provisions of the law in announcing the results of the election.

Obi has said he has evidence to show he tallied the majority votes in the election while Abubakar has asked the court to disqualify Tinubu, alleging that he has a Guinean passport and therefore wasn’t eligible to enter the presidential contest under the Nigerian Constitution.

"We are telling the court that he (Tinubu) is not qualified and contrary to the law, he did not put (the election commission) on notice that he has citizenship of another country,” said Paul Ibe, a spokesman for Abubakar.

In Nigeria, an election can be invalidated only if it’s proven that the national electoral body largely didn’t follow the law and acted in ways that could have changed the result. 

None of Nigeria’s presidential election results has ever been overturned by the country’s Supreme Court, though analysts said this year’s vote is peculiar with the heavy deployment of technology in the electoral process.

The main opposition party has said without evidence that the ruling party is plotting to interfere with the court process, adding to tensions as the country awaits the judgment of the court while preparing for the inauguration of Tinubu as president. 

The court challenge though is usually a lengthy process and is expected to last for months, beyond May 29 when Tinubu is due to take over from incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

Arab League begins negotiations between Sudan's warring sides

CAIRO, Egypt

The Arab League (AL) held an emergency meeting in Cairo this weekend, the third of its kind in three weeks, to discuss the ongoing military clashes in Sudan.

Sudan has been suffering deadly armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital city of Khartoum and other areas since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict.

Shortly after the outbreak of the conflicts, the AL held two emergency meetings on April 16 and 30, respectively, to discuss the situation in Sudan.

This weekend, top diplomats in the Arab world gathered in the Egyptian capital once again, trying to see how they can cooperate to help the Sudanese talks succeed, so as to ensure Sudan is not dragged into a long armed conflict.

"The top priority for the Arab League now is to find a real solution and to stop the bloodshed, to protect the livelihoods of people in Sudan, especially since this country is relying on humanitarian aid. The consequences have been exacerbated. This is not about calling the RSF a militia or not. The top priority now for the Arab League is to find a way out of the current situation," said Amira Sayed, a researcher on African affairs at the Egyptian Gazette.

The Arab League meeting came after Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry wrapped up a busy week to discuss the crisis in Egypt's southern neighbor.

Shoukry spoke to the commanders of the rival Sudanese sides, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of the SAF and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the RSF. Shoukry also discussed the recent developments with seven Arab and African foreign ministers including those of Kenya and Djibouti.

So far, the deadly clashes have left 550 people dead and 4,926 others wounded, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

Deaths from Congo floods approach 400 as search continues

By Justin Kabumba, GOMA DR Congo

The death toll from floods in eastern Congo has almost doubled, reaching close to 400 people as of Sunday, according to a local official.

The administrator of the worst-affected area, the Kalehe territory of South Kivu province, told The Associated Press by phone that more bodies were recovered Sunday, including many found floating in Lake Kivu.

Administrator Thomas Bakenge said the confirmed number of dead stood at 394 but it was a provisional count since the search was continuing. More than 300 victims had been buried as of Sunday, local groups said.

Torrential rains across Kalehe territory began on Thursday evening. Rivers broke their banks, with flash floods sweeping away the majority of buildings in the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi, causing the huge loss of life.

Delphin Birimbi, a civic leader in Kalehe, said he understood that thousands of people remained missing. He told the AP that some doctors arrived to treat the injured but communities were pleading for more emergency assistance.

The destruction caused by the flooding hampered aid efforts, with two main roads impassable.

More than 170 victims were buried in four mass graves, Valet Chebujongo, a youth political activist helping in the rescue efforts in Kalehe, said by telephone. “Imagine, you bury them in a mass grave, without a coffin,” Chebujongo said.

The Congolese government declared Monday as a National Day of Mourning, with flags to fly at half-staff in memory of the victims.

A delegation of government officials and lawmakers sent by Congo’s president, Félix Tshisekedi, arrived in Bukavu, a city near the southern part of Lake Kivu and planned to visit the devastated area on Monday, according to a government spokesperson.

Heavy rains in recent days have brought misery to thousands in East Africa, including in parts of Uganda and Kenya.

Flooding and landslides in Rwanda, which borders Congo, left 129 people dead earlier in the week.