DR Congo situation improving, president tells pope

19 hours ago

VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila told Pope Benedict XVI the situation in his conflict-ravaged country was "a little better" when they met at the Vatican Thursday.

Talks between the pair had originally been scheduled for last December but Kabila was forced to put off his trip to Rome when clashes between rebel and government forces resumed in DR Congo's restive Nord-Kivu province.

A Vatican statement said they had discussed "the political and social situation" in DR Congo and especially in Nord Kivu and Sud Kivu provinces, in the east of the country.

The pope stressed the "priority for respect for human rights to end the sufferings of the civilian population and build a fairer and more cohesive society."

Kabila, a protestant married to a Catholic, invited the pope to visit Kinshasa.

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