The United Nations says it has arrested the head of a Congolese rebel group suspected of leading attacks involving the mass rape of hundreds of civilians. The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo says it captured the commander of the Mai Mai Cheka militia, Lt Col Mayele, during a military operation. Jonny Hogg reports.
Lt Col Mayele was arrested in Walikale in eastern Congo. The UN suspect that a little over two months ago in the same area, he and his men systematically raped civilians over a four-day period. Around 200 militia members from different groups are thought to have been responsible for the attacks, which are an extreme example of the sexual violence that has characterised the conflict in eastern Congo. The UN has been strongly criticised because its peacekeepers did not stop the atrocities.
The Nigerian government has denied allegations that it tried to get a rebel group from the Niger Delta to retract a statement claiming responsibility for deadly bomb attacks last week in Abuja. The allegations were made by Henry Okah, the former head of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, who was arrested on terror charges following the bombings. He said that a close associate of the Nigerian president asked him to persuade the movement to drop its claim in an attempt to pin the blame on another group.
There have been a number of explosions in the city of Kandahar in southeastern Afghanistan. Nine people are reported to have been killed, and more than 20 injured. Police officers are reported to be among the casualties.