DR Congo: Scores Killed in Rebel Attacks | WPN World People News

Unidentified rebel fighters have killed at least 184 civilians and wounded many others in attacks on villages in Beni territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since October 2014. Such killings amount to war crimes.

Victims and witnesses described to Human Rights Watch brutal attacks in which rebel fighters methodically hacked and shot civilians to death with axes, machetes, and firearms.

“Large-scale rebel attacks occurring nearly weekly have terrorized residents of Beni and left them uncertain where to seek safety,” said Ida Sawyer, senior Congo researcher. “UN and Congolese forces need to urgently coordinate their efforts and improve protection of civilians in Beni.”

Senior United Nations and Congolese army officials say they believe the recent attacks were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan-led Islamist rebel group that has been active in Beni territory since 1996. Some officials say the ADF may be acting together with fighters from other armed groups. UN and Congolese officials should further investigate the identity of the attackers and those who support them.

ADF fighters, including Ugandans and Congolese, have been responsible for scores of kidnappings in recent years. Civilians who had earlier been held in ADF camps said they saw deaths by crucifixion, executions of those trying to escape, and people with mouths sewn shut for allegedly lying to their captors. Some captives accused of “misbehaving” were held in holes or in a casket lined with nails for days or more than a week. The attackers also raped women and forced them to be their “wives.”

In January, the Congolese army officially opened a new phase of military operations against the ADF with some limited logistical support from the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, and its Intervention Brigade, a 3,000-strong force within MONUSCO created in mid-2013 to carry out military operations against armed groups.

The latest wave of attacks began several months after the Congolese army pushed the ADF out of their main bases. In recent months, MONUSCO has significantly increased its presence in the Beni area in an attempt to better protect civilians.

Some witnesses described getting no response or a delayed reaction when they asked the army for protection. UN officials said that the army has resisted its attempts at coordination to protect civilians and has blocked UN troops from carrying out patrols in certain areas. The Congolese government should ensure that UN troops and UN human rights monitors are given immediate and unrestricted access to all areas where attacks have taken place or where civilians might be at risk, as per MONUSCO’s Chapter VII mandate under the UN Charter, which authorizes UN troops to take military or non-military action to protect civilians.

During two research missions to Beni territory in November and through interviews with over 70 victims and witnesses to attacks and others, Human Rights Watch confirmed the killing of at least 184 people during attacks between October 5 and December 6 in the Boykene neighborhood of the town of Beni and in the villages of Linzosisene, Oicha, Ngadi, Kadou, Erengeti, Ondoto, Kambi ya Chui, Manzati, Tepiomba, Vemba, Ahili, and Manzanzaba. It is likely that the actual number of people killed during these attacks is significantly higher. Congolese human rights activists have documented the killings of over 230 civilians in the Beni area since early October.

A large attack occurred on November 20 in the villages of Vemba and Tepiomba and the surrounding areas, on the edge of Virunga National Park. The attack killed at least 50 people and possibly many more. In another attack on December 6 in Ahili and Manzanzaba villages, fighters killed at least 38 civilians. Congolese human rights activists reported the killings of at least another 18 civilians during attacks between December 7 and 9.

Congolese government officials say they have arrested a number of suspected ADF fighters and others they believe collaborated with or supported the ADF. The Congolese government should ensure that those who have been arrested are promptly charged with specific crimes, brought before a judge, and have the assistance of counsel before being questioned.

Congolese judicial officials, with the support of international agencies that support Congo’s justice system, should urgently carry out credible and thorough criminal investigations into the recent wave of killings, including responsibility for the attacks and their source of support. Congo’s partners should support greater intelligence gathering capabilities in the region to determine who is responsible for the recent attacks and to improve protection for civilians.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) should collect information and examine the abuses with a view to determining whether an ICC investigation into alleged crimes in the Beni area is warranted. The ICC has jurisdiction over serious international crimes committed in Congo. It opened an investigation there in June 2004. The ICC can step in when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute grave crimes in violation of international law.

MONUSCO should increase patrols to the affected areas, including foot and night patrols, and set up mobile operating bases closer to the remote villages where many of the recent attacks have taken place. Community Liaison Assistants (CLAs), who speak the local language and have a deep understanding of the local context, should immediately be placed within Intervention Brigade units and peacekeeping contingents based in the Beni area. A hotline should also be set up so that civilians can directly contact peacekeepers in the area and alert them quickly in case of attack.

“Much more could be done to enhance protection of civilians and prevent the next massacre,” Sawyer said. “UN peacekeepers should improve ties with local communities and be prepared to deploy to threatened areas immediately.”

The Vemba Attack and Army Rebuff of Peacekeepers
Before the attack on the villages of Vemba and Tepiomba, several unidentified men, some dressed in military uniforms, arrived at the home of the Vemba village chief, where local residents had gathered to drink locally made corn beer. The men initially claimed to be Congolese soldiers and told people not be to be afraid.

The men then took people out of the chief’s house, forced them to sit on the ground, and tied their arms behind their backs with strips of rubber from bicycle tires. One witness saw the leader of the group talking on a cell phone. After he finished the call, he said to the others in broken Swahili: “Start the work. Cut them.” The assailants then killed scores of civilians with ax blows to their heads.

The next day, the army and some civilians found nine of the bodies and took them to the morgue in Oicha. The army then quickly sealed off the area of the massacre, not allowing anyone, including UN peacekeepers, to access it for several days. The army said its troops had come under fire near the site where the bodies were located and it was too dangerous for family members and others to come close to the area.

The army buried 49 bodies near the site of the massacre, according to a declaration from a provincial government minister. Witnesses who escaped the attack and saw the bodies told Human Rights Watch that the number of people killed during the attack was much higher. Congolese human rights activists say dozens of people are still missing and presumed dead.

Coordination efforts between the Congolese army and MONUSCO peacekeepers to protect civilians in the aftermath of the November 20 massacre have been fraught with difficulties. When MONUSCO’s Intervention Brigade prepared to send troops to the area to conduct joint operations with Congolese soldiers, army officials stopped the joint operation, telling MONUSCO it would be “difficult to recognize” the UN forces in the forest and “friendly-fire” incidents could occur, according to a senior UN officer. Instead, the army said it would pursue the attackers alone.

On November 23, the army led MONUSCO forces on a joint patrol to a location where they claimed the massacre had taken place, but that was another location not linked to the massacre. On December 3, the army took MONUSCO troops to another location, saying it was the site of the mass grave in Vemba. But peacekeepers again suspected it was another location since they found no evidence of the massacre or the mass grave.

Source: Human Rights Watch