INTERNACIONAL
Congo bringing back death penalty as violence, militant attacks surge
Congo has lifted a more than two-decade-old moratorium on the death penalty as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country, according to a justice ministry statement released on Friday.
The statement, dated earlier this week, said the ban from 2003 allowed offenders accused of treason and espionage to get away without proper punishment.
Eastern Congo has been riddled by conflict for decades, linked to more than 120 armed groups fighting for land and power and in some cases, protecting their communities.
AT LEAST 250,000 DISPLACED AS CONFLICTS RAGE ON IN THE CONGO
The government said the violence in the east has plagued the country with recurrent conflict and resulted in a surge of attacks that have spread terror among the communities.
In recent years, the M23 rebel group — the most dominant in the region with alleged links to neighboring Rwanda — has continued to attack villages, forcing many to flee to Goma, the region’s largest city. M23 has laid siege to several communities with about half of North Kivu province under it’s control.
The violence in the province has worsened in recent weeks as security forces battle the rebels. Residents have said the group’s fighter mostly launch attacks with bombs out of hills overlooking remote towns.
In its statement, the justice ministry said capital punishment will be reserved for offenders involved in criminal conspiracies, armed gangs, insurrection — and also those who commit treason and war crimes. It will also be applied to the military, including those who rebel or desert and join enemy ranks.
Rights groups have condemned the decision, calling it a step back for the country.
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«This initiative is against the constitution,» said Jean-Claude Katende, president of the African Association for Human Rights. «We don’t think that capital punishment and the execution of this sentence are appropriate measures to restore order.»
INTERNACIONAL
French elections: Riots erupt after left-wing coalition projected to win plurality of seats
Crowds of protesters and celebrators flooded the streets of Paris as French election results began pouring in on Sunday.
On Sunday, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced his intent to resign after a far-left political coalition was poised to win a plurality of French parliamentary seats. The coalition had unexpectedly assembled before the snap elections began.
Tens of thousands of left-wing demonstrators gathered in Paris’s Place de la République on Sunday night to celebrate the news. Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition is projected to take second place.
The results were a huge upset for conservatives in France, who had hoped that Marine Le Pen’s National Rally would take power.
FRENCH PM TO RESIGN AS LEFTISTS NAB PLURALITY OF PARLIAMENTARY SEATS IN SNAP ELECTION
Social media footage shows massive bonfires in Parisian streets as authorities confronted demonstrators while wearing riot gear.
Tear gas was released as rowdy protesters were arrested. Protesters were also recorded throwing Molotov cocktails in the streets and setting off smoke bombs.
TOURIST PLANE CRASHES ONTO HIGHWAY IN FRANCE, KILLING THREE: VIDEO
The left-wing coalition, which is called the Popular Front, is made up of France’s Socialist Party, the French Communist Party, a green political party called the Ecologists and France Unbowed.
The bloc has pledged to institute a number of measures if elected, including scrapping Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform and working towards establishing «a right to retire» at 60 years old.
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The coalition also pledges to increase wages for public sector employees, establish a wealth tax and raise France’s minimum wage.
Reuters and Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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