Rwandan rebels kill dozens of civilians in DR Congo

Rwandan rebels kill dozens of civilians in DR Congo

2012-01-06 06:15:49 GMT+7 (ICT)

KINSHASA (BNO NEWS) -- Attacks by a Rwandan rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo this week have left dozens of people killed, human rights groups told the UN-backed Radio Okapi on Thursday.

On Monday and Tuesday, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) reportedly killed at least 39 people in the Shabunda region of South Kivu. The rebels attacked several villages in Bamuguba South, including Luyuyu, Ngolombe and Kishenya.

The human rights groups reported that 30 people were killed in Luyuyu alone, among them a pregnant woman whose stomach was hacked open and her baby removed. Eight were killed in Ngolombe while the village head of Kishenya was decapitated.

According to several sources quoted by the radio station, the FDLR has promised to "shoot at everything that moves". The attacks are reportedly reprisals against people for supporting youths who have organized themselves into vigilante groups to fight the rebels.

The FDLR is composed almost entirely of ethnic Hutus who fled from neighboring Rwanda after the genocide of 1994, where an estimated 800,000 people were killed. The rebels have been accused of committing dozens of terrorist attacks and atrocities, including rapes and killings.

In December, former commander of the FDLR and United Nations (UN) employee Callixte Mbarushimana was released by the International Criminal Court after judges ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute him. It was alleged that he directed and participated in the murder of 32 people in 1994, including UN employees he was hired to protect.

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