The situation for Rwanda's estimated 1 million children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and decades of civil conflict is aggravated by the disruption of traditional structures, including the extended family system and community solidarity, UNICEF says.

The restrictions on political and civil liberty in Rwanda, though partly understandable in view of the fragile security situation related to the 1994 genocide and its aftermath as well as the long Congo conflict, are radicalising opposition to the leadership of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), stifling reconciliation and hindering the transition to democracy, says a new report from the International Crisis Group.

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International has announced an action plan to halt a recent poaching spree that has left six mountain gorillas dead, one infant in temporary captivity and several others missing in Rwanda.

Eight members of the political wing of a Rwandan Hutu rebel group, who were refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were expelled from the country on Wednesday.