At least 17 killed in new DR Congo attack

GOMA - At least 17 people have been hacked to death in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been plagued by a spate of massacres blamed on Ugandan rebels, police said Wednesday.

The attack took place overnight in the city of Beni in the restive North Kivu province.

"We have found 17 bodies. The search is continuing," a police officer told AFP. "The victims were killed with machetes."

Beni was hit by a string of massacres from October to December that left over 260 people dead, most of whom were slaughtered with machetes and farm tools.

Congolese authorities, military experts and the UN mission in the country, MONUSCO, all blame the spate of killing on Ugandan rebels fighting for the Allied Democratic Forces and National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU).

The rebels have terrorised villagers in the region border between DR Congo and Uganda since being driven out of their homeland in 1995.

In mid-December, the UN mission and the DR Congo's army relaunched an offensive on the rebel group, which is said to include about 400 fighters.

AFP