|
Congo: Thousands flee amid surge in 'horrific violence'
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... has warned that the Democratic Republic of the Congo  ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... (DRC) is facing a "humanitarian disaster of extraordinary proportions", as violence and mass displacement is rapidly rising in the country's southeast. A spokesperson for the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday that entrenched intercommunal conflict between several ethnic groups in Tanganyika province was "triggering spiraling displacement and human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... abuses". "Moreover, fierce festivities between the Congolese armed forces and militias have continued since the end of January, while new gangs threaten to wreak more havoc in the province," Andrej Mahecic said in a statement. The surge in violence in Tanganyika - an area that is home to about three million people - was largely between the Twa, Luba and other ethnic groups. It comes amid more than 800 reported human rights abuses in the province over the first two weeks of February alone. "People fleeing for their lives near the lovely provincial capital Kalemie share stories of horrific violence during attacks against their villages, including killings, abductions and rape," Mahecic said. Posted by: Fred 2018-02-21 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=508558 |