ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal (Reuters) – When he took office in 2000, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade promised to end decades of separatist rebellion in his country’s southern Casamance region within his first 100 days in power.

Over a decade later, as Wade hunts votes for a controversial third stint in power, he is still proposing peace plans – this time offering farming projects to lure rebels out of the bush in a bid to end one of Africa’s longest running insurgencies.

DAKAR/KIDAL, Mali (Reuters) – Equipped with heavy weapons from Muammar Gaddafi’s looted arsenals, the Tuareg-led rebels who assaulted the town of Aguelhoc in northern Mali last month overwhelmed the remote garrison.

Fighters hardened by combat in Libya swelled the ranks of the desert insurgents who in their first attack on January 18 surrounded the local army base with machinegun-mounted four-wheel drive vehicles. They destroyed army communications, local cellphone towers and laid down a barrage of mortar fire.

DAKAR/KIDAL, Mali (Reuters) – Equipped with heavy weapons from Muammar Gaddafi’s looted arsenals, the Tuareg-led rebels who assaulted the town of Aguelhoc in northern Mali last month overwhelmed the remote garrison.

Fighters hardened by combat in Libya swelled the ranks of the desert insurgents who in their first attack on January 18 surrounded the local army base with machinegun-mounted four-wheel drive vehicles. They destroyed army communications, local cellphone towers and laid down a barrage of mortar fire.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – On the streets of Congo’s capital Kinshasa earlier this week, a car carrying a Westerner was stoned by angry locals convinced the outside world helped rig the outcome of the central African giant’s presidential election.

“White man, white man, you have stolen the elections for Kabila!” they shouted in the incident, two days after incumbent Joseph Kabila was declared winner of the November 28 vote.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Clashes erupted between protesters and security forces in parts of Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday as diplomats scrambled to defuse tensions ahead of the country’s full election results.

Police fired tear gas at opposition supporters in Kinshasa, and gunfire rang out in a city in West Kasai province, an opposition stronghold, after the government shut down a television and radio broadcaster.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Congo’s Catholic Church urged election authorities on Sunday to ensure published poll results were a true reflection of voters’ intentions as a disorderly counting process raised concerns about possible electoral fraud and more bloodshed.

The Church, which had the largest network of independent observers during Monday’s elections and is an influential player in the overwhelmingly Christian country, warned that a dispute over the election could trigger major unrest.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – The African Union has urged politicians in the Democratic Republic of Congo to show restraint after the main opposition parties rejected partial election results that showed President Joseph Kabila in the lead.

With fears growing that the publication of preliminary election results in two days could lead to unrest, the continental body said candidates should make any challenges to the outcome through legal channels.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo rejected partial results on Saturday that showed a lead for President Joseph Kabila in a November 28 election, and called on African leaders to act to prevent violence.

The vast Central African nation held its second post-war election Monday and the camps of both Kabila and veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi have said they are sure of victory, setting the stage for further trouble.

KINSHASA, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Opposition parties in the
Democratic Republic of Congo rejected partial results on
Saturday that showed a lead for President Joseph Kabila in a
Nov. 28 election, and called on African leaders to act to
prevent violence.

The vast Central African nation held its second post-war
election on Monday and the camps of both Kabila and veteran
opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi have said they are sure of
victory, setting the stage for further trouble.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – In a front-page cartoon showing a ballot box full of votes locked away for safe-keeping while a group of citizens look on, Kinshasa daily Le Potentiel catches the mood of post-election Congo.

“Dear Ballot Box, I hope you will tell me a story with a happy ending on December 6. It is the one I wrote,” reads a speech bubble from one onlooker of the date when provisional results are due.