DRC army blamed for killings

2008-01-09 21:06

Kinshasa - Eight civilians, including three children, have been killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by "men in uniform", with some witnesses blaming the country's army, a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The eight villagers were killed in Musezero in the violence-wracked Nord-Kivu region on January 2, said Kemal Saiki, spokesperson for the UN mission in the DR Congo, which is known by its French acronym MONUC.

All the victims were Hutus, he said. They had been buried the day after they were killed, but Congolese police have since recovered the bodies.

A ninth person has gone missing, he said.

Residents said soldiers from the DR Congo's army had fired on civilians suspected of collaborating with insurgents loyal to ex-general Laurent Nkunda. MONUC could not confirm those allegations.

"The team from MONUC's human rights section that has gone to the region has not been authorised by the local population to investigate, presumably because of pressure from (the DR Congo army)," said Saiki.

MONUC also said Nkunda's men are suspected of kidnapping four civilians in an area just west of Musezero on January 3.

Fierce fighting between the army and Nkunda loyalists has gripped Nord-Kivu since August. The army has deployed more than 25 000 troops to the area to fight an estimated 4 000 rebels loyal to Nkunda.

Nkunda is a Congolese Tutsi who presents himself as the defender of his community.

Musezero is located in a hilly area between positions held by the DR Congo army and insurgents.

The situation remains tense in Nord-Kivu despite Sunday's opening of talks to secure peace in the DR Congo's conflict-torn eastern regions.

Government ministers, lawmakers, international officials and representatives of various armed groups in the eastern Nord- and Sud-Kivu regions bordering Burundi and Rwanda were among the 600 delegates invited for the meeting.

Nkunda has sent representatives to the conference.

- SAPA