Internet service restored

The Internet has been restored in the DRC after the government cut services for three days on the eve of protests against the President. A report on the News24 site notes that the Congolese Telecommunications Minister, Emery Okundji, ordered mobile operators to cut Internet and SMS services ‘for reasons of state security’ late last month. Catholic and opposition groups on Sunday last week pushed ahead with banned demonstrations, which were met with a deadly crackdown by authorities, who fired tear gas into churches and bullets in the air to break up gatherings at Catholic masses. Internet cuts are common during anti-government demonstrations in the vast, mineral-rich central African country, which has been wracked by tension over delayed elections.