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Aid workers under attack from militia in âkilling fieldsâ
Update from the Congo.Militia controlling the Congolese town of Bunia have attacked humanitarian workers and raped members of their families in the last few days and continue to execute members of other tribes during the night. At least five local aid workers have been badly beaten in their homes and a United Nations controlled refugee camp in recent days. The UN peacekeeping mission in Bunia said the militia were targeting humanitarian workers, the only people with large amounts of money in the pillaged town. Aid officials disclosed that four Congolese Red Cross officials were killed in last month's battle for Bunia as they attempted to bury some of the hundreds of bodies which littered the streets. Two of the victims were killed by ethnic Hema rebels, who seized control of the town three weeks ago, while the other two were murdered by rival Lendu militia. An employee at the UN hospital, an aid colleague, two friends and his niece were subjected to seven hours of terror when Hema militiamen burst into his home on Sunday evening as they ate. "They made us lie on the floor and then beat us with the butts of their guns," said the hospital worker, his body covered in bruises and his arm in a sling. "They knew my name and position. They demanded $1,000 [£630] not to harm us." On discovering that the group only had $50, the militiamen continued to beat up their victims, and ransacked the house, stealing clothes, suitcases, watches, food, a television set and two motorcycles. They then raped the hospital worker's 16-year-old niece. Before leaving, one of the rebels put his rifle into the other aid worker's side and pulled the trigger twice. Miraculously it misfired. Bunia has become a shell of its former self since Thomas Lubanga's Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) forced Lendu militias out of the town on May 12. A population of 300,000 people two months ago has shrunk to roughly 40,000. The main street is still virtually deserted, more so since child soldiers as young as nine who, until Saturday marauded through the town, were confined to barracks away from the media. Looted buildings, pockmarked with bullet and grenade holes, line the streets. Aid workers said that on the outskirts of town the UPC had embarked on a policy of ethnic cleansing, drawing up lists of members of other tribes and Hemas accused of collaboration with the intention of executing them. Entire families in areas beyond the control of 700 Uruguayan peacekeepers are allegedly disappearing every night. "This is the killing fields," said an aid worker in Bunia. "Lumbanga is like Pol Pot. There are executions every day - all non-Hemas, aid workers and journalists are enemies." The UN Security Council has ordered an emergency intervention force into Bunia led by France, but with a sizeable British contingent. Its mandate authorises the use of force and it is expected to begin deployment within days.
Posted by: Bulldog 2003-06-04 |
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