The Congolese government has arrested Thomas Lubanga, the leader of the Union des patriotes Congolais (UPC), a key political movement in the northeastern district of Ituri, a government official announced on Tuesday.

Some 550 former combatants surrendered their arms on Sunday and Monday in the northeastern district of Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in a disarmament effort targeting 4,000 militiamen, the largest number so far.

Sixteen people died on Saturday in the western province of Equateur, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after a boat capsized on the River Congo in Lukolela Territory, about 200 km from the provincial capital of Mbandaka, a local official told IRIN.

Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) seized guns and ammunitions on Wednesday in the embattled northeastern district of Ituri, the UN Mission there, known as MONUC, said.

A senior UN civilian official accused of sexual misconduct in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is no longer under investigations; another senior official has been dismissed, Fred Eckhard, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, announced on Thursday.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has said it will not "tolerate any behaviour" by its members that undermined its "good image and international standing."

The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, has pledged to "bring before the courts" perpetrators of crimes committed in the embattled northeastern district of Ituri.

The head of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), William Swing, gave a two-week ultimatum on Sunday to militiamen in the embattled northeastern district of Ituri to disarm and be integrated into the country's national army.

At least 88,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the war-torn district of Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are again receiving relief aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), reported on Wednesday.

Looting, stealing and burning of villages in North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, was carried out by armed militias and by members of the newly integrated national army. This was the result of a special inquiry of the UN Mission in the DRC, or MONUC, which was published on 24 February.