UN alarmed by insurgent attacks on civilians in DR Congo

UN alarmed by insurgent attacks on civilians in DR Congo

2011-03-02 05:11:51 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday voiced alarm at the upsurge of attacks against civilians by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) insurgents in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Melissa Fleming, dozens of people have been killed and thousands more have been forced out of their homes.

The attacks have intensified since January in DR Congo's Orientale province where some 35 people have been killed, 104 others abducted and an estimated 17,000 displaced.

"An additional worrisome development is that the rebels appear to have shifted from preying on people in isolated and remote locations to targeting more populated areas," added Fleming.

The latest insurgent attack took place on February 24 in the town of Banangana where eight people were killed and 30 abducted. Three days earlier, a truck carrying relief supplies was attacked near the Garamba National Park.

Previously, the LRA launched an attack on Faradje territory, forcing several aid agencies to evacuate staff and leave residents by themselves on February 11. The attacks by the LRA originated in Uganda.

According to UN data, an estimated 2,000 people have been killed and 2,500 abducted, including 892 children, in attacks against civilians in villages and towns across Orientale province since December 2007.

After being abducted, Orientale residents are forced to work in the fields, used as sex slaves or as new recruits. The attacks are often carried with extreme cruelty, including murder, mutilation, or amputation of the lips and ears, in order to terrorize the population.

Since 2008, approximately 290,000 people have been displaced in Orientale province. In addition, 20,000 Congolese have sought refugee in southern Sudan, while 3,500 have fled to the Central African Republic.

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