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| Africa Subsaharan |
| 150 massacred in Congo |
| 2008-12-12 |
| At least 150 civilians were massacred in a Democratic Republic of Congo town last month, Human Rights Watch said in a report Thursday which strongly criticised UN peacekeepers. Most of those killed in the eastern town of Kiwanja on November 4-5 were "summarily executed" by rebel forces loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda, who is leading a new offensive against the army. "Others died during combat between Nkunda's forces and the Mai-Mai militia, a local armed group that supports the Congolese government and often fights alongside the national army," the organisation said. "Mai-Mai militia also deliberately killed people." The report said the UN peacekeeping forces, known as MONUC, were just half a mile away when the killings were carried out in the town in Nord-Kivu province. Days earlier, Nkunda's rebel group had taken control of Kiwanja and Rutshuru after defeating Congolese army soldiers in a battle, Human Rights Watch said. "Due to the importance of these two towns as centres for humanitarian assistance, MONUC considered them a priority protection zone, yet the peacekeepers did not protect the towns from a rebel takeover or halt the destruction of displacement camps," it said. |
| Posted by:Fred |