Hundreds Said Dead, Abducted By Congolese Rebel Group “Lord’s Resistance Army”
A rebel group that wants to set up a democracy founded on the Ten Commandments killed no less than 321 civilians and abducted 250 others in a series of raids on remote villages in December, according to Human Rights Watch.
The abductions, which included at least 80 youngsters, and killings had been carried out through the Lord’s Resistance Army over four days, HRW said in a 67-page report released Saturday.
Critics charged the rampage in no less than 10 villages had not been previously reported simply because the Congolese government maintains the LRA is no longer a significant issue.
“The Makombo massacre is one from the worst ever committed by the LRA in its bloody 23-year history, yet it has gone unreported for months,” mentioned Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The four-day rampage demonstrates that the LRA remains a serious threat to civilians and isn’t a spent force, as the Ugandan and Congolese governments claim.”
Most of those killed had been adult men, but women and kids also died, including a 3-year-old girl who was burned to death, the report said.
The kidnapped kids were forced to kill other children who disobeyed the LRA’s rules, those who managed to escape told HRW.
About 1,000 United Nations peacekeeping troops patrol the region in northeastern Congo, but HRW mentioned that number was “far too few” to guard citizens.
Members from the U.N. Security Council strategy to visit the country in April to discuss pulling out troops.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would require President Barack Obama to develop a plan to guard civilians in central Africa from the LRA and to arrest the LRA leadership.
The bill is currently under consideration through the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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[...] Lord's Resistance Army » Congo, HRW, Human Right Watch, Homicide The abductions, which included at least 80 youngsters, and killings had been carried out through the Lord’s Resistance Army over four days, HRW said in a 67-page report released… [...]