Kony massacres 100 more in Congo
THE number of civilians massacred by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan has catapulted to 189 in four days.
By Henry Mukasa
THE number of civilians massacred by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan has catapulted to 189 in four days.
It emerged yesterday that the LRA killed 60 people in Gurba, a township southwest of Doruma between December 26 and December 27. The number of victims in Faradge and Doruma which were first attacked on December 24 and Christmas day has also shot up.
The United Nations aid agency OCHA (United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) said the victims were all killed during raids on villages in the northeast of the DRC and parts of South Sudan between December 24 and 27.
“According to local officials, on December 25, the rebels killed 40 people in Faradje. On December 26 and 27, they attacked Doruma and the neighbouring village of Gurba, killing 89 people in Doruma and 60 people in Gurba,†OCHA said in a statement.
The New Vision reported yesterday that the total number of victims had reached 83, including 45 massacred in a church, 10km south of Doruma.
Twenty children and a number of adults were abducted during the attacks, OCHA said. The rebels and their leader Joseph Kony, who have been holed up in the densely forested Garamba National Park in the DRC are fleeing after a regional military offensive led by the UPDF.
The offensive code-named Operation Lightning Thunder was launched on December 14 by the UPDF, SPLA of South Sudan and the Congolese army.
This was after Kony, four times, failed to sign the final peace agreement that was painstakingly negotiated in Juba with the Government between July 2006 and April 2008. South Sudan brokered the talks with its vice-president, Dr Riek Machar, as the chief mediator.
Witnesses and survivors said the rebels used pangas, machetes, swords and clubs to kill the people who had taken refuge in the church. Others were killed as the rebels raided their homes for food.
As they scampered from their bases in Garamba amid aerial bombardment from MiG21 jet fighters and helicopter gun-ships, the rebels abandoned granaries of food, beddings, guns and ammunition.
The UPDF also discovered vast gardens of food crops and domestic animals.
THE number of civilians massacred by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan has catapulted to 189 in four days.
It emerged yesterday that the LRA killed 60 people in Gurba, a township southwest of Doruma between December 26 and December 27. The number of victims in Faradge and Doruma which were first attacked on December 24 and Christmas day has also shot up.
The United Nations aid agency OCHA (United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) said the victims were all killed during raids on villages in the northeast of the DRC and parts of South Sudan between December 24 and 27.
“According to local officials, on December 25, the rebels killed 40 people in Faradje. On December 26 and 27, they attacked Doruma and the neighbouring village of Gurba, killing 89 people in Doruma and 60 people in Gurba,†OCHA said in a statement.
The New Vision reported yesterday that the total number of victims had reached 83, including 45 massacred in a church, 10km south of Doruma.
Twenty children and a number of adults were abducted during the attacks, OCHA said. The rebels and their leader Joseph Kony, who have been holed up in the densely forested Garamba National Park in the DRC are fleeing after a regional military offensive led by the UPDF.
The offensive code-named Operation Lightning Thunder was launched on December 14 by the UPDF, SPLA of South Sudan and the Congolese army.
This was after Kony, four times, failed to sign the final peace agreement that was painstakingly negotiated in Juba with the Government between July 2006 and April 2008. South Sudan brokered the talks with its vice-president, Dr Riek Machar, as the chief mediator.
Witnesses and survivors said the rebels used pangas, machetes, swords and clubs to kill the people who had taken refuge in the church. Others were killed as the rebels raided their homes for food.
As they scampered from their bases in Garamba amid aerial bombardment from MiG21 jet fighters and helicopter gun-ships, the rebels abandoned granaries of food, beddings, guns and ammunition.
The UPDF also discovered vast gardens of food crops and domestic animals.