DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rwandan rebels kill 16 people in a devastating dawn attack on Bunyakiri village in the volatile east of the Democratic Depublic of Congo

Record ID: 353643

  • Title: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Rwandan rebels kill 16 people in a devastating dawn attack on Bunyakiri village in the volatile east of the Democratic Depublic of Congo
  • Date: 27th May 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF VILLAGERS FLEEING THE ATTACKED VILLAGE
  • Embargoed: 11th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
  • Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVAEBXE7I6QG736DVRZ3R9XKDZBK
  • Story Text: Rwandan rebels attacked the village of Bunyakiri in the east of the Democratic Republic Congo early on Friday (May 25), killing 16 people.
    According to the villagers, the attack was carried out by the dreaded Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) who wore combat fatigues resembling those worn by Congolese army.
    "There is a military base outside our village and when the rebels came, they had uniforms similar to those of the soldiers. When we started talking to them asking if they were soldiers, their accent gave them away and we knew we had been attacked by FDLR. There was huge confusion with people screaming but we just knew that we were going to be killed," said local resident Amisi Kakule, who witnessed the attack.
    Locals say some 180 people have been killed by the rag-tag militia in the past 10 days. The FDLR rebels, who are blamed for the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, are considered to be one of the main sources of instability in the east of the DR Congo, where several armed groups are still active.
    The rebels have previously been targeted by the Rwandan army and DR Congo army in joint operations but major operations were suspended on the orders of President Joseph Kabila on April 11 after several former rebels integrated into the national army defected.
    "We have realised that as a professional military outfit, it is practically difficult to intervene in this kind of attack because it was not clear for two reasons. First, because as we said, they used the knives and second, because they have not attacked the military or Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), nor the United Nations peacekeepers. And that is to say simply that we believe it is a crime, but it was not any attack. They targeted civilians and not the military," said Delphins Kayimbi, an operations commander with the Congolese armed forces The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, announced this week he will seek arrest warrants for the FDLR field commander, Sylvester Mudacumura, for crimes against humanity.
    Local member of parliament Enselme Enerunga asked for help form the international community to end the attacks by the FDLR.
    "We are asking the international community and the United Nations to help us get rid of this group which is committing genocide in Congo. These are terrorists and we wonder why the United Nations is not doing anything. They committed serious atrocities in the neighbouring country and have continued to do so here and we are begging the United Nations to remove these terrorists from our population."
    The United Nations local peacekeeping mission, known as MONUSCO, recently deployed attack helicopters in North Kivu in an attempt to dissuade armed groups from targeting civilians. The ongoing fighting and the hunt for renegade general Bosco Ntaganda and his men has forced some 100,000 people to flee their homes according to the UN, including thousands into neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda.
    Ends
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
Register