Central Africa

Deadly ethnic fighting in Central African Republic could descend into a much larger-scale conflict if nothing is done to disarm combatants and defuse tensions, a U.N. report said on Friday.

Police in Rwanda have confirmed the arrest of some members of the country’s two opposition parties on Thursday. The two parties, FDU-Inkingi and the PDP-Imanzi according to officials are not recognised officially and will now be questioned for their activities.

Police in Rwanda have arrested a critic of President Paul Kagame charging her for forgery and tax evasion, although she has denied the allegations.

Crimes against humanity are being committed in Burundi, according to a United Nations commission of inquiry. Killings, torture, sexual violence, degrading treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests have been taking place since April 2015, according to the report published Monday.

Police fired tear gas to disperse supporters of Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition chief on Sunday as they gathered in the capital amid high tensions over election delays keeping President Joseph Kabila in power, a Reuters witness said.

Dozens of activists from Cameroon’s English-speaking community were freed from jail on Friday as the mainly French-speaking nation’s president moved to ease months of tension in its minority regions.

Rwandan police said on Wednesday they were investigating Diane Shima Rwigara - a critic of President Paul Kagame barred from challenging him in elections this month - for tax evasion and forgery.

The UN said on Tuesday that soldiers "forced entry" into its base in the volatile Kasai region of DR Congo aiming to arrest a journalist critical of President Joseph Kabila.

Residents in Rwanda's capital say seven people have been killed by crocodiles on the banks of Nyabarongo River this month.

Authorities have banned imports of several popular consumer products in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo for six months to fight smuggling, Trade Minister Jean-Lucien Busa said on Monday.