Congo nears deal under which Kabila to leave power by end 2017

[WorldNews]

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By Aaron Ross and Tim ****s KINSHASA (Reuters) - President Joseph Kabila of Democratic Republic of Congo would leave power in 2017 and elections would be held the same year under a political deal close to completion, opposition leaders said on Friday. The deal would be a breakthrough for a country that has not seen a peaceful transition of power since independence in 1960 and would represent a turnaround after dozens of people were killed this week in protests over Kabila's tenure. Kabila took power after his father, Laurent, was assassinated in 2001, and critics saw the violence as an attempt to crush dissent and enable the extension of his constitutional mandate, which ended on Tuesday after two terms in office.

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