DRC cancels parade

KINSHASA: The Democratic Republic of the Congo will not hold its annual independence day military parade today because of security concerns, an adviser to President Joseph Kabila said yesterday.

Congo’s independence day parades, held each of the past three years, are usually festive events that mark the end of Belgian colonial rule in 1960 and have been used to show off the central African country’s latest arms acquisitions.

But rising militia violence, a growing humanitarian crisis and a spate of prison breaks have unsettled Africa’s largest copper producer.