Runner-Up in Congo Files Suit, Claims Fraud
Sunday, November 19, 2006; Page A23
Runner-Up in Congo Files Suit, Claims Fraud
KINSHASA, Congo -- The former rebel who lost Congo's presidential election filed a lawsuit Saturday claiming he was cheated of millions of votes -- a potential sign he won't resort to violence and plunge the sprawling Central African country back into chaos.
Jean-Pierre Bemba had vowed to "use all legal avenues to ensure the will of the people is respected," indicating he would not enlist the hundreds of fighters he has in the capital. The pledge was seen as crucial for Congo's fledgling democracy.
Bemba, who ruled a fiefdom in northern Congo during the 1998-2002 civil war and became one of four vice presidents in a transitional government, won overwhelming support in Kinshasa and western Congo but only 42 percent of the overall vote, according to the Electoral Commission. President Joseph Kabila won 58 percent.
AFRICA
· ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- About 2,000 people demonstrated to demand the release of an Ethiopian immigrant sentenced to 10 years in a U.S. prison for mutilating the genitals of his 2-year-old daughter.
Khalid Adem, 30, was convicted on Nov. 1 of aggravated battery and cruelty to children by a court outside Atlanta. It was believed to be the first such criminal case in the United States. During the trial, prosecutors said Khalid used scissors to remove his daughter's clitoris in his family's Atlanta-area apartment in 2001.
Genital mutilation crosses ethnic and cultural lines and is not tied to a religion. Activists say it is intended to deny women sexual pleasure.
· KHARTOUM, Sudan -- The Sudanese army and government-backed militias are committing acts of "inexplicable terror" against civilians, including children, in Darfur, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official said.
Spiraling violence in the conflict-racked region of western Sudan is reaching its worst level since fighting erupted more than three years ago, Jan Egeland said.
· MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The leader of the Islamic group that controls much of southern Somalia has revived the idea of a "Greater Somalia" that would incorporate regions of Kenya and Ethiopia -- a move that could further stoke tensions with the neighboring countries.
Hassan Dahir Aweys, chairman of the Council of Islamic Courts, told Shabelle Radio that his group would work to unite ethnic Somali peoples, but he did not say how it proposed to achieve a "Greater Somalia."
