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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Congo-Kinshasa: Civilians Killed As Rebels Clash With Army |
| 2016-10-12 |
| [All Africa] At least eight civilians have been killed during a firefight between the army and rebels in the eastern 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). Gilbert Kambale, a civil society leader, told AFP news agency on Monday that rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked the town of Beni in North Kivu overnight, with eight civilians, a soldier, and an ADF fighter rubbed out. Mak Hazukay, the DRC army's front man, said the non-combatants were killed in the crossfire between the army and the rebels. "The armed forces of the DRC intercepted the ADF and in the exchanges of fire civilians and soldiers were killed," Hazukay said. The ADF was founded in Uganda in 1995 with the aim of toppling President Yoweri Museveni . It later moved to the DRC where it is one among dozens of gangs seeking control over territory and mineral resources in the east of the country. Human rights violations In the past, independent observers have blamed both ADF rebels and DRC forces for deadly attacks against civilians. The Beni area in particular has seen numerous massacres since October 2014, which have left more than 700 civilians dead. On Friday, US-based rights group Human Rights Watch ... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge.... criticised the government for failing to protect the people of the Beni region and called on authorities to develop "a new strategy to protect civilians" in the area. On August 4, DRC President Joseph Kabila and Museveni held talks in Uganda seeking a coordinated military strategy against the ADF fighters. The rebels have been present in eastern DRC for more than 20 years. The group has been accused of human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... abuses and is thought to be deeply embroiled in criminal networks funded by kidnappings, smuggling, and illegal logging. |
| Posted by:Fred |