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Rwandan militias accused of killing 12 farmers in South Kivu

Map of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Rwandan militias have been accused of killing a dozen farmers in Walungu, 25 km southwest of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mayi-Mayi militiamen in the region told IRIN on Friday. Congolese National Radio and Television, RTNC, issued a similar report, citing 15 victims. "Interahamwe [Rwandan Hutu militants] attacked farmers and killed those who refused to surrender their cows," Gilbert Muke, a leader of the local Mayi-Mayi - now calling themselves "Action pour la defense de la Republique" - stated. "I saw the corpses of eight men and two women left behind by the attackers, who fled eastward towards Kanyola when they heard that we were coming," Muke said. Mayi-Mayi, traditional Congolese militias, are one of several former belligerent parties now represented in the DRC's two-year transitional national government. The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) said it had been informed of the killings, but could not confirm anything until an inquiry team that had been sent completed its mission. "The murders are alleged to have taken place last week, according to the reports we received," Eliane Nabaa, MONUC information officer in Bukavu, told IRIN.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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