Army accused of summary executions

The DRC human rights group ASADHO has expressed concern over summary executions and harassment by the Congolese army in villages near the town of Basankusu in Equateur province. In the report, issued before the rebel Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) captured Basankusu from the army, ASADHO said the atrocities were committed in July and September in villages such as Pimu, Djombo and Kodoro after Congolese troops were repulsed by the MLC. On their retreat towards the Maringa river, the soldiers "killed in cold blood" people who tried to escape the onslaught, apparently seeking out the Ngombe people whom they accused of collaborating with the rebels. ASADHO also accused some MLC rebels of cannibalism. It cited witnesses who said a man and two children in Djombo had their throats slit by members of the MLC, who then ate them. Meanwhile, MLC leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has moved his operational headquarters from Gbadolite to Basankusu after his troops captured the town last week, AFP reported. Gbadolite would remain the administrative centre of the MLC, Bemba said.