Third day of fighting in DRC

Fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital Kinshasa continues between the feuding forces supporting presidential election rivals. The race turned violent on Sunday when officials announced a run-off would be held in October between the incumbent Joseph Kabila and his challenger Jean-Pierre Bemba. Uruguayan and Spanish troops on Monday rescued a group of foreign ambassadors trapped in the crossfire.

Sunday’s announcement followed historic but inconclusive July 30th elections, which were the first free polls in more than four decades in the vast, war-scarred former Belgian colony the size of western Europe. The UN has a more than 17,000-strong peacekeeping force deployed in Congo, backed by a much smaller European Union military force. One western diplomat said the politicians seem to have been sidelined by the military in a push and shove between egos.

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