APRNEWS - The International Criminal Court on Tuesday cleared ex-Ivorian president, Laurent Gbagbo of all war crimes charges and ordered for his immediate release.

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser said that prosecutors failed to prove their case and Gbagbo and his co-defendant, Charles Blé Goudé, a close ally and former political youth leader, should be set free.

REUTERS - French authorities have arrested a man suspected of committing war crimes in the Central African Republic and he will face extradition to The Hague, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday.

APRNEWS - Unidentified fighters have killed more than 1,000 civilians in Beni territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in a series of massacres beginning four years ago, Human Rights Watch said today. On September 22, 2018, fighters killed 17 people in Beni town, bringing the number of civilians killed this year to at least 235.

APRNEWS - The International Criminal Court will not open a formal investigation into claims of post-election violence following the disputed 2016 presidential election, the ICC’s chief prosecutor said Friday.

REUTERS - China said on Tuesday that exerting pressure was not helpful in resolving the issue of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar after U.N. investigators said Myanmar’s military had carried out mass killings of members of the minority.

APRNEWS - On the eve of Ivory Coast’s 58th independence day celebrations, president Alassane Ouattara has announced presidential pardon to about 800 prisoners.

Among those to be pardoned according to the president are the former First Lady Simone Gbagbo, the president said in a televised address to the nation.

REUTERS - Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba returned home on Wednesday after a decade in prison in The Hague for a presidential run expected to pose a stiff challenge to President Joseph Kabila or his successor in December’s election.

APRNEWS - Former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Democratic Republic of Congo said he was headed Wednesday for Kinshasa to throw his hat into the ring for a December presidential election after spending 11 years abroad — most of them behind bars.

APRNEWS - Considering that the opposition in DR Congo has agreed in principle to field a joint candidate, former vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba said he believed he would be the best candidate in December’s presidential election but that he was open to supporting another candidate.

APRNEWS - Congolese Foreign Affairs Minister Leonard She Okitundu said Sunday that the former Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Pierre Bemba “may return” to the country if he wishes. Okitundu did not specify whether Bemba will be prosecuted by the Congolese justice system.