D.R. CONGO: U.N. OFFICIAL SAYS INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE UP TO 350 PEOPLE WERE MASSACRED IN RECENT ATTACK BY TRIBAL MILITIAS IN DRODRO

Record ID: 645907

  • Title: D.R. CONGO: U.N. OFFICIAL SAYS INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE UP TO 350 PEOPLE WERE MASSACRED IN RECENT ATTACK BY TRIBAL MILITIAS IN DRODRO
  • Date: 7th April 2003
  • Summary: (W4) DRODRO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (APRIL 8, 2003) - (REUTERS) WS: LOCAL HOSPITAL VARIOUS CASUALTIES ADMITTED IN HOSPITAL (8 SHOTS) SV: BEHROOZ SADRY SPEAKING TO SOLDIERS SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Broken English) BEHROOZ SADRY, DEPUTY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CONGO SAYING "They showed a number of mass graves. And they could perhaps, according again to the number the people on the spot, have indicated or buried in each of the mass graves they had counted, they made it to a total of 300 or so, but it's the same people who showed them these mass graves that indicated that there are these other locations with so many in this spot, so many in that spot.'' SV'S/CU/SCU: WOUNDED CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN HOSPITAL (4 SHOTS) SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNIDENTIFIED HOSPITAL NURSE, SAYING: "A few minutes before 6AM, we heard gunshots. But we were in the house, so we didn't know what was happening exactly. We heard the people screaming, and the gunshots, and more people screaming very loudly. We knew that a massacre was going on, but we didn't know what was happening exactly, because we were locked in the house. It lasted until 8 AM. '' MV: WHITE FLAG ERECTED IN VILLAGE SV'S: VILLAGERS AND UGANDAN TROOPS WALKING PAST (2 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UGANDAN ARMY CAPTAIN FELIX KULAYIGYE, SAYING "Many of these militia have acquired uniforms from different sources, they have, for example, they fought the UPC [Union des Patriotes Congolais]. The UPC had uniforms, and they defeated them, actually many of there defences. So they changed uniforms. When the UPDF [Ugandan army] was fighting the UPC on the 6th many of these militia descended on the UPDF defence at a place called Beni and charged and stole whatever they landed on, then they have acquired those uniforms from other armies the Congo's armies, so uniforms have been acquired in this place as much as guns have been acquired." WS: VILLAGERS NEAR WHITE FLAG MOUNTED ON POST LV: VILLAGER WALKS BY
  • Embargoed: 22nd April 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: DRODRO, ITURI PROVINCE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
  • Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
  • Topics: Crime,Conflict,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAD77M2EAVAE9EXA95TG5RNZB3
  • Story Text: A United Nations official said investigators believed up to 350 people were massacred by tribal militias in Congo last week, far fewer than the nearly 1,000 deaths initially reported by local witnesses.
    Residents of Drodro town were left scarred by the attack, suspected to have been triggered by ethnic animosity between Hema and Lendu tribesmen.
    In Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an area rich in minerals and arable fertile land, lies Drodro village, some 80 kilometres from the border with Uganda. Its inhabitants, mainly farmers, were brutally attacked on April 3 2003, during a dawn raid. Machine gun and machete wielding militiamen left hundred of villagers massacred and several of them injured.
    Their valuables and houses were razed to the ground, as well as those of residents of 14 other nearby villages.
    According to witnesses, the killing spree lasted two to three hours and left fears that another cycle of violence may be erupting.
    "They killed people with bullets and machetes. There were dead people everywhere on these hills", said a villager.
    Ethnic clashes between Hema and Lendu tribesmen have killed thousands of people since 1999 in the Ituri region. The identity of the attackers was unclear, but Hema villagers accused the Lendus of committing the massacre due to ethnic hatred.
    The UN investigating team has identified twenty mass graves, bearing evidence of clothing and blood traces.
    "They showed a number of mass graves, and they could perhaps - according again to the number of people on the spot - had indicated or buried in each of the mass graves they had counted'', Behrooz Sadry, the deputy representative of the UN's special envoy for Congo explained.
    ''They made it to a total of 300 or so, but it is the same people who showed them these mass graves, that indicated that there are these other locations with so many in this spot and so many in that spot."
    The Ugandan army has put the number of dead at between 350 and 400. The figures could not be independently confirmed.
    Children and adults bearing gunshot and deep machete cut wounds have been hospitalised at the local hospital. Many of them were too shocked to give an account of the attack.
    According to the UN investigating team, the congested wards have admitted close to 50 casualties. "A few minutes before 6AM we heard gunshots, but we were in the house, so we did not know what was happening exactly. We heard the people screaming, and the gunshots, and more people screaming very loudly. We knew that a massacre was going on, but we didn't know what was happening exactly, because we were locked in the house. It lasted until 8 AM'', recounted the nurse at the local hospital.
    After hearing rumours of a possible attack on Drodro, some Hema villagers had erected white flags to show their support for peace, but this was ignored by the militiamen who committed the massacre.
    A peace treaty settlement was signed in South Africa a day before this latest massacre. The government, rebel groups and opposition parties agreed to a transitional government rule until the next general elections are held in 2-1/2 years.
    Ugandan troops where previously accused by the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), a pro-Hema movement, of siding with the Lendu tribe, the minority group in Drodro. The troops are now patrolling the area at the request of the United Nations, hoping to restore security in the area.
    Asked why the Lendu militiamen were wearing military uniforms and carrying guns, Captain Felix Kulayigye of the Ugandan army replied : "Many of these militia have acquired uniforms from different sources, they have for example, they fought the UPC, the UPC had uniforms, and they defeated them, actually many of there defences, so they changed uniforms, when the UPDF was fighting the UPC on the 6th many of these militia descended on the UPDF defence in a place called Beni and changed and stole whatever they landed on. Then they have acquired those uniforms from other armies, the Congo's armies, so uniforms have been acquired in this place as much as guns have been acquired."
    War in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed over 3 million lives since it begun in 1998.
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