Soldier in eastern DR Congo shoots dead at least 12 civilians

A drunken soldier in DR Congo's troubled east opened fire on passers-by killing at least 12 people, including a two-year-old girl, sources said Friday.

The incident happened overnight Thursday at Sange, in the territory of Uvira in South Kivu province, a region where angry protests have erupted against the army.

"The person responsible is a drunken member of the FARDC (DR Congo armed forces) who shot at at least 20 civilians who crossed his path," a prosecutor in Uvira said.

Captain Dieudonne Kasereka, the army's spokesman in Uvira, said "the toll to our knowledge is 13 dead", and said the gunman was on the run and still armed.

"An army delegation and a UN team is in the area to calm the population, which is demonstrating against the army," he said.

Angry residents blocked Highway 5 which runs through the area, using branches and burning tyres.

They also displayed the 12 bodies, wrapped in funeral shrouds, at a busy crossroads, blocking traffic, several witnesses told AFP.

Ndaburwa Rukalisa, a local leader in Sange, said the soldier was a member of the 122nd Battalion of the FARDC, based locally, and was "in a state of drunkenness" at the time.

Nine people were hospitalised in a "critical" condition, he added.

The provisional toll of 12 dead was confirmed by witnesses, while a judicial source said a two-year-old girl was among those who died in the rampage.

Sange is located 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province.

The highway connects Uvira, the province's second-largest town, with the border with Burundi.