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The defence minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Alexandre Luba Ntambo, has appealed to panic-striken civilians in the country’s east not to form militias to protect themselves after a string of massacres by suspected Ugandan rebels.
Ntambo said on Tuesday that self-defence groups could further complicate the already fragile situation around the town of Beni, where as many as 120 people have been slaughtered in five weeks of night-time rebel raids.
His call came as the Congolese army, backed UN peacekeeping troops, fought rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU) for a second day on the edge of the town.
Local officials believe the rebels were “organising themselves” for another attack on Beni when the soldiers came upon them.
As the fighting raged in the Virunga National Park around the town, families were burying the dead from the last attack when 11 people were killed – mostly hacked to death with machetes – in a raid on Saturday night.
President Joseph Kabila on Monday chaired a special meeting of the higher defence council in the capital Kinshasa to address the crisis, promising army and police reinforcements for the area.
He also called for more aid for the thousands of families who have fled their homes since the attacks began.
Civil society groups claim up to 120 men, women and children have been butchered by the rebels. – AFP
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