Up to 10,000 people flee Hema-Lendu clashes

UNHCR concurred that the clashes between ethnic Lendu and Hema communities in Ituri Province, northeastern DRC, are driving more people from their homes. In addition to those fleeing east into Bundibugyo district of Uganda, an estimated 10,000 Hema have reportedly fled west, towards Kisangani, inside the DRC, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski told journalists on Tuesday.

Refugees arriving in Kyangwali, south of the border town of Bundibugyo, at the weekend were mainly Hemas and claimed that the Lendus were targeting them, as well as some Lendu moderates accused of being Hema sympathisers, Janowski said. "They killed my father, my mother, my brother and my kid. They came in large numbers. I ran away during the attack and I later saw my home in flames," one Hema refugee in Kamuga transit camp told UNHCR.