“I saw one house with the bodies of 10 men on the floor. They had all been killed by spears - whoever killed them did not want to waste any bullets.”

Click here to read the account of Augustin Kambale, a ranger in Virunga Park who returned to his home village of Kiwanja last week to rescue his family from intense fighting in the area.  While he was there Augustin came across evidence of widespread killings of villagers.

The UN found that last week rebel forces loyal to Laurent Nkunda and pro-government Mai Mai militias killed at least 26 civilians in the village of Kiwanja.  In a report, Human Rights Watch puts the number at 50 civilians who stayed behind and were targeted during the fighting.  The Congolese Red Cross believes as many as 200 were killed.  The United Nations had a peacekeeping presence in the village and surrounding area yet was unable to protect the villagers of Kiwanja.

Over several days of intense fighting the rebels, government forces and local Mai Mai militias took, lost and reclaimed the village.  According to sources, many of the villagers were killed by rebels who accused civilians who stayed behind of supporting the government against them.  Intentionally targeting civilians during a conflict is a serious war crime. Killings committed by Nkunda’s Tutsi rebels may well also inflame anti-Tutsi violence in the region, already heightened by the ongoing tragedy of renewed war.

Posted By: Michael Graham | November 14, 2008 | Comments (0)