08/10/2003

Up to 65 people 'massacred' in Congo

The UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported that it has discovered 65 bodies, mostly children, in what appears to have been a massacre over the weekend.

A unit from the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC), alerted by local combatants, found 23 bodies in a local church and the others in a mass grave. Most of the dead were children. Some 20 other people were wounded and are being treated in local hospitals.

From the evidence gathered so far, the UN believes that a group of Lendu, believed to be from nearby villages, armed with rifles and machetes, attacked a settlement called Katchele early in the morning.

MONUC has sent a contingent of Pakistani soldiers to Katchele to investigate the massacre and search for weapons.

Two weeks ago, Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised “positive developments” in the DRC, including the establishment of a Government of National Unity and Transition. He had convened a meeting of the leaders of countries in the region, who pledged to work together for peace.

(gmcg)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

22 August 2005
Cypriot airliner depressurised and out of fuel
Crash investigators have confirmed that preliminary findings indicate that the Cypriot airliner, which crashed on August 14, had depressurised and had run out of fuel when it crashed.
16 September 2015
PHE And Health Bodies Issue Statement On E-Cig Use
The health risks of e-cigarettes are "relatively small" in comparison to regular cigarettes, Public Health England (PHE) has restated.
17 August 2004
Safe resettlement of Burundi massacre survivors to begin
Discussions between the UN and Burundi government have begun today into the transfer of survivors of last week’s massacre of Congolese refugees to a safe new camp. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that work would begin shortly on a site of safe refuge following Friday night’s slaughter which claimed the lives of 150 people.
16 August 2004
Britain condemns massacre at Burundi refugee camp
The British government has joined the United Nations in strongly condemning the massacre of at least 150 people at a refugee camp in Burundi. Scores were killed and over a hundred injured when the Gatumba camp, which lies 16km northwest of Bujumbura near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was attacked by rebel forces.
07 November 2003
UN soldier wounded during Congo firefight
UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) "vigorously responded" to attacks on blue helmet troops last night, kicking off a prolonged firefight in which one UN soldier was lightly wounded, according to a dispatch released today from Kinshasa.