Submit this form
Home News Videos Music Photos Facebook Twitter Friends Newsletter Podcasts Mobile RSS
Rebels attack villages, kill 24, displace thousands

KINSHASA, 11 Oct 2005 (IRIN) - Thousands of civilians began arriving in the town of Walungu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday following attacks on four nearby villages, in which at least 24 civilians were hacked to death.

"Most of the displaced are small children and old women," Donatien Nakalonge, a local community leader in the town of Walungu in South Kivu Province, told IRIN on Tuesday.

They walked 15 km from their villages of Tchindudi, Mungombe, Kanyola and Rudundu, in a valley 60 km south of the provincial capital, Bukavu.

"They are have been arriving here since Monday evening and they are exhausted," Nakalonge said.

He said no humanitarian organisations were helping the displaced, as yet.

The spokesman for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC), Kemal Saiki, said on Monday that a UN team had, so far, visited two of the villages and confirmed that 15 people had been killed, including six children.

The South Kivu governor, Didas Kaningini Kyoto, said on Monday that Hutu Rwandan rebels belonging to a breakaway group known as the Rastas attacked the villages on Sunday.

They did not use guns, he said, because "they did not want to be noticed by soldiers at an army base on a hill nearby".

He added: "They killed their victims with machetes and axes, smashing victims heads in with hammers."

Many civilians were also seriously wounded. They are being treated at the Walungu General Hospital, Kaningini said.

At least six homes were also burned down.

Saiki said MONUC and army troops were now patrolling the area. MONUC has a base 15 km away but the troops there can only reach the villages by foot.

In Bukavu, the spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs, Nadia L'heureux, said humanitarian organisations were trying to organise aid but, she said, they were concerned about further attacks by the Rwandan rebels.

Fighting between the army and Mayi-Mayi militiamen also occurred in the area in June, forcing civilians to flee.


Related articles


  1. Thousands of Women March Against M23 Rebels in Kinshasa (November 24, 2012)
  2. Tshisekedi Says He Won, Can He Prove It? (December 17, 2011)
  3. Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in DR Congo (June 28, 2011)
  4. Rights Groups: Strengthen Civilian Protection Before Elections (June 9, 2011)
  5. UN Sanctions FDLR Leaders, CNDP Rebel Commander Integrated into Army (December 2, 2010)
  6. UN launches patrols to head off rebel violence during holiday season (December 1, 2010)
  7. Congo Defense Minister Rejects UN Allegations against Army (October 17, 2010)
  8. Rebel leader presumed responsible for mass rape arrested (October 5, 2010)
  9. UN DR Congo Report Exposes Grave Crimes (October 1, 2010)
  10. UN says peacekeepers 'failed' DR Congo rape victims (September 7, 2010)
  11. UN Defends Inaction on Mass Rapes in Eastern Congo, Government Missing in Action (August 26, 2010)
  12. Two Suspects Arrested in Attack on MONUSCO Base (August 20, 2010)
  13. Ban Ki-moon deplores deadly attack against blue helmets in North Kivu (August 18, 2010)
  14. Ban Ki-moon inaugurates new phase of UN mission in DR Congo (July 1, 2010)
  15. Congo Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Independence (June 30, 2010)
  16. Top UN envoy bids farewell to first batch of blue helmets leaving DR Congo (June 16, 2010)
  17. Veteran United States diplomat appointed to top UN post in DR Congo (June 9, 2010)
  18. Top UN officials urge inquiry into killing of Congolese human rights activist (June 3, 2010)
  19. UN to reduce DR Congo peace force (May 28, 2010)
  20. Security Council agrees to convert UN mission in DR Congo into stabilization force (May 28, 2010)
  21. U.S. Official Sees Improvement in Africa's Great Lakes Region (May 26, 2010)
  22. Back from DR Congo, Security Council set to review mandate of UN force (May 17, 2010)
  23. Security Council members depart for two-day visit to DR Congo (May 13, 2010)
  24. UN chief warns against early withdrawal from DR Congo (April 30, 2010)
  25. U.N. Security Council Cancels Congo Trip (April 16, 2010)
  26. DR Congo army regains control of Mbandaka (April 4, 2010)
  27. Enyele rebels enter major city in Equateur province (April 4, 2010)
  28. Behind Human Rights Watch Report on LRA, a Plea for MONUC to Remain in the Congo (March 29, 2010)
  29. New strategy needed against LRA in DR Congo, says UN chief (March 28, 2010)
  30. UN mission in DR Congo vows continued support for army (March 24, 2010)


Live TV Congo Radio en ligne Radio
Available on App Store
Get it on Google Play



Contact Us | About Us | Édition en Français | French Edition

© CongoPlanet.com. All rights reserved.