Kinshasa — The signing of a deal aimed at ending a political crisis in democratic Republic of Congo was being held up on Friday by “complications”, a source close to the negotiations said, damping hope of a breakthrough. The country has been thrown into political limbo by President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down after his second and final term, which officially ended on December 20. At least 40 people have been killed during anti-Kabila protests around the country since Monday, the UN human rights office said in Geneva on Friday. “Some 107 people have been injured or ill-treated and there have been at least 460 arrests,” it said. The influential Catholic Church has been brokering talks between the government and opposition in a bid to exit the crisis, and negotiators wrapped up talks on Thursday night in an optimistic mood, leaving legal experts to finalise the text of the deal based on a working document. “It’s certain — we will finish tomorrow,” Fridolin Ambongo, vice-presid...
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