15 die in rebel attacks

2006-05-02 22:16

Goma - Rwandan Hutu rebels have attacked two eastern forest villages and an army camp in Congo, burning dozens of homes and leaving at least 15 dead, a UN official said Tuesday.

"There have been two Rwandan rebel attacks in the past 24 hours," UN spokesperson Jacqueline Chenard said. "The fire fights were violent and have caused a massive displacement of civilians from their homes."

The Monday attacks started in a village about 90km north of the provincial capital of Goma. At least seven residents were killed in the raid - two burnt alive in their homes - and 25 houses were burnt and pillaged, Chenard said, citing local hospitals.

A second attack at an army camp prompted Congolese troops to retaliate. Chenard said the Congolese army reported the deaths of six rebels, one soldier and his spouse.

Chenard said the rebels fled into the forest after the raids, adding that the UN did not know how many rebels were involved.

A UN humanitarian team will travel on Wednesday to the site to help displaced residents, she said.

The attacks come about two weeks after the Congolese army backed by UN peacekeepers mounted a series of offensives against the Rwandans, many of whom fled to Congo after killing in Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

A 17 000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, the world's largest, is helping an ill-trained and poorly paid Congolese army flush the well-armed and trained rebels out of civilian zones in time for elections slated for July 30.

The UN estimates at least 10 000 Hutu rebels remain in Congo, despite a September government deadline for all foreign armed groups to leave Congo.

The rebels say they fear harsh reprisals for their crimes during the Rwandan genocide on their return to their homeland, which has rejected rebel requests for an amnesty for their genocide crimes.

- SAPA