More Dead in Democratic Republic of Congo
Paul Harris | 13.10.2003 05:48 | Anti-militarism | World
Following on the heels of a massacre earlier this week in the Ituri province town of Katchele, new bloodshed has been discovered in South Kivu province (see www.YellowTimes.org for background report).
In Katchele, at least 65 people, mainly women and children, were killed on Monday. It is believed the killers were Lendu militiamen who arrived in town without provocation and began shooting and hacking with machetes.
On Friday, United Nations troops reported they had come across 16 bodies in South Kivu two days earlier. There have been no details released about how they died but one Bangladeshi peacekeeper at the site referred to the deaths as "murder." Again, the dead are mainly women and children. The killings occurred near the town of Uvira which lies on the border with Burundi.
U.N. officials say they believe the attacks in Uvira were carried out by an extremist Hutu group based in Burundi, Force for the Defense of Democracy (FDD). This group has been a challenge for the new government in Burundi, and has repeatedly been a threat to peace and stability in eastern Congo.
The U.N. is investigating both massacres.
YellowTimes.org correspondent Paul Harris drafted this report.
On Friday, United Nations troops reported they had come across 16 bodies in South Kivu two days earlier. There have been no details released about how they died but one Bangladeshi peacekeeper at the site referred to the deaths as "murder." Again, the dead are mainly women and children. The killings occurred near the town of Uvira which lies on the border with Burundi.
U.N. officials say they believe the attacks in Uvira were carried out by an extremist Hutu group based in Burundi, Force for the Defense of Democracy (FDD). This group has been a challenge for the new government in Burundi, and has repeatedly been a threat to peace and stability in eastern Congo.
The U.N. is investigating both massacres.
YellowTimes.org correspondent Paul Harris drafted this report.
Paul Harris
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