DR Congo: Suspected rebels kill 36 in Beni region

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - At least 36 people were killed Wednesday in a suspected rebel attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo's Beni region, said authorities.

The attack by suspected Ugandan rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) took place on the towns of Manzengi, Mebundu and Mayabalo, according to a statement by local NGO the Center for Studies for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (CEPADHO).

“The Wednesday evening rebel attack left 36 people massacred and six others seriously injured,” it said.

“Armed with machetes and assault rifles, the ADF attackers moved door to door.”

Beni Governor Donat Kibwana also told reporters that many of the victims were hacked to death in their homes.

According to the NGO, the attackers also looted several properties, taking livestock and other valuables.

The latest killings bring to 292 the number of civilians killed since Congolese forces launched an offensive against armed groups in eastern Congo at the end of last October, CEPADHO said.

The army in November killed Mouhamed Mukubwa, one of the top leaders of the ADF, in a forest in Beni.

At the end of her five-day visit to the DR Congo on Monday, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on the government and international community to seize every opportunity to pacify the country.