DR Congo to close frontiers pending second round of presidential elections

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will close its frontiers with nine neighboring countries before holding its second round of presidential elections on Sunday, the government announced.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said here on Thursday that the measure was aimed at halting cross-border migration in part of its efforts to ensure security for the Oct. 29 elections.

The DRC shares borders with Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo.

The vast central African nation is still suffering the aftermath of the 1998-2003 civil war, which involved some neighboring countries as well. In the troubled Ituri district bordering Uganda, ethnic conflicts have left 60,000 people dead and 600,000 displaced since 1998.

President Laurent Kabila is to face his ex-vice president Pierre Bemba in the Sunday vote. The two men ranked first and second in the initial round of the July 30 presidential poll, winning 44.81 percent and 20.03 percent of the vote respectively.

They are bound by electoral rules to participate in a runoff since neither gathered more than 50 percent of the vote for an outright win.

Source: Xinhua