African leaders grappled today with a long-simmering crisis in Zimbabwe and a new humanitarian catastrophe in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo fought pro-government militiamen for a second day in the town of Kiwanja today, forcing thousands to flee.

BRITISH Foreign Secretary David Miliband said yesterday he has not ruled out sending troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a United Nations bid to avert a looming humanitarian disaster.

UN aid convoy delivered vital medical supplies to Congo refugees today for the first time since fighting began weeks ago.

The first humanitarian convoy to go behind rebel lines since violence erupted in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo more than two months ago set off today.

Aid agencies today warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Democratic Republic of Congo after fierce fighting between the government and rebel forces.

An arrest warrant was issued today for a former Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo warlord who took refuge inside a foreign embassy while his personal army and government troops fought in the capital.

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon called Congo’s first elections in 46 years a sign of hope for the rest of war-torn Africa, praising the country’s fragile democracy in his first official tour of the continent.

CONGO inaugurated Joseph Kabila as its first freely elected president in more than four decades yesterday, installing a rebel leader’s son who ushered in a plan to end years of fighting to help the country take a place among the world’s democracies.

A rebel leader’s son who ushered in a peace plan was sworn in today as the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first freely-elected president in more than four decades.

A hearing on vote fraud charges will be delayed and continue in a new location in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa after part of the country’s supreme court caught fire yesterday amid gunfire and street fighting among supporters of the runner-up, officials said today.

People in the Democratic Republic of Congo have finished voting in an election that marks the climax of its four-year postwar transition.

UN troops in armoured vehicles are standing guard at the site of a three-day gun battle that broke out between forces loyal to president Joseph Kabila and a former rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

THE chief of staff to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Joseph Kabila has been assaulted and robbed in northwest London, outside a TV studio.

Electoral officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) backed by riot police faced down stone-throwing boycotters to allow voters a second chance, underlining the challenge to democracy in Africa: keeping ethnic, regional and political disputes from reigniting into war.

War weary Congo was plunged into conflict again tonight and a Cabinet minister in the east of the African nation said “We are being attacked by Rwandan troops.”

CONGO President Joseph Kabila has appealed for calm and promised that security forces would protect the country’s people after armed groups attacked military installations across the capital in an apparent coup attempt.

Congo President Joseph Kabila appealed for calm today after armed groups attacked military installations across the capital in an apparent attempt to force him from power.

A man in military uniform opened fire in the palace of Congo’s President Joseph Kabila today, launching a gun battle that left two members of the presidential guard and the gunman dead.

CONGOLESE and Rwandan officials announced they had reached an agreement to end a four-year war in Congo that has claimed more than 2 million lives, but rebel leaders warned that peace could remain elusive.

Congolese and Rwandan officials have announced an end to four years of fighting in a war that has claimed more than two million lives.

Joseph Kabila, the son of assassinated Congolese president Laurent Kabila, has been sworn in as his successor.

The state funeral of assassinated Congo president Laurent Kabila has taken place, with his family and top officials guarded by foreign troops.

Congo's embattled President Laurent Kabila was shot and wounded by one of his own bodyguards during an attempted coup d'etat, a senior security official says.

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo was hit by gunfire during an attempted coup, officials in neighbouring Republic of Congo say.