Hutus seize 60 from DRC - UN
2004-06-07 20:58
Bukavu - Rwandan Hutu rebels had kidnapped 60 civilians from Democratic Republic of Congo in the past few days and were holding them for ransom, a UN official said on Monday.
"According to information we have, 60 civilians have been kidnapped from Sange, about 30km north of Uvira, by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)", which includes Hutu extremists blamed for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, said Timothy Reid, an official for the UN mission in DRC based in Bukavu.
The FDLR was asking "$100 dollars (R648) ransom for each person," he said.
The FDLR is made up of Rwandan Hutu rebels who fled to east DRC after the 1994 genocide, in which up to a million people, mostly members of Rwanda's Tutsi minority, were slaughtered in the course of 100 days.
Dissidents seized Bukava
Rwanda has twice sent troops into DRC - in 1996 and 1998 - citing as one reason for invading the threat posed by the Hutu extremists who sought refuge in the east.
The war that broke out in DRC in 1998 was resolved only last year, at the cost of about 2.5 million lives, lost either directly in fighting or through disease and hunger.
Despite peace being restored in most of DRC since last year, the east and northeast have continued to be riven by conflict.
Last week, dissident soldiers seized Bukavu, sparking violent protests around the country and sparking fears that the peace process would unravel.