Tanzanian husband tries to sell his albino wife. Police caught a man in Tanzania trying sell his albino wife for $3,000, reports the BBC. He allegedly tried to make the sale to two businessmen from Congo, police say. His wife (who’s not pictured) did not know she was about to be sold. Albinos have been a target for killings in the country, mainly because many witchdoctors claim that albino body parts make their magic potions stronger. Police arrested the husband, a fisherman, after receiving a tip. The businessmen, though, escaped and are thought to have returned to their native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tanzania has asked the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to help find them. Just since March, at least 27 albinos have been murdered in the country. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has ordered a crackdown on such killings, and 170 witchdoctors have been arrested as a result. The condition affects about 1 in 20,000 people all over the world, but it seems like the figure is much higher in Tanzania. According to the Albino Association of Tanzania, while there are only 4,000 registered albinos in the nation, there could actually be as many as 173,000. The nation is conducting a census to find out what the real number is.

The world isn’t doing enough to help Congo, says agency. When it comes to helping out with the crisis in Congo, the world is dragging its feet, said Oxfam International head Juliette Prodhan. The latest fighting in the nation, between government troops and rebels lead by Tutsi Gen. Laurent Nkunda, has caused 250,000 people to flee from their homes. “There appears to be no urgency in the international community’s talks on the crisis, but this is a deeply urgent situation. The world is failing in its responsibility to protect the Congo’s innocent civilians,” Prodhan said in a written statement, reports CNN. The refugee camps to which many flee are in poor shape, with constant outbreaks of disease due to unsanitary conditions. Workers from Oxfam have visited camps across the Democratic Republic of Congo and found that “civilians continue to face widespread brutality.” Rape and forced labor are also prevalent throughout the nation and are on the rise. There are United Nations peacekeepers in Congo, but they have been ineffective in stopping violence. In total, the country has 17,000 international peace troops and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the European Union to send in 3,000 troops. With the country’s suffering, Oxfam is teaming up with other organizations to provide help. “It’s a traumatized population of people who didn’t have very much. They’ve been on the road now for weeks, and they’ve lost everything they have, and they’re in a very vulnerable situation,” Oxfam spokesman Chris Black told the news service.

TAGS: Albino, congo, crisis, Oxfam International, refugees, sell, Tanzania

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