Bishop accuses militias of cannibalism

Monsignor Melchisedec Sikulu Paluku, the bishop of Beni-Butembo in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has accused two local militias of cannibalism.

The militias are the Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC), headed by Jean-Pierre Bemba, and the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-National (RCD-N), led by Roger Lumbala.

"People who have fled the advance of MLC fighters and their RCD-N allies in the Beni-Mambasa axis have reported that prisoners and hostages were being forced to eat their own ears, big toes and other body parts," Sikulu told IRIN from Beni.
He said that pygmies were particularly affected by "these unimaginable atrocities".

Quoting reports by internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had fled to areas near Beni, he said: "The invaders - that is the fighters of Jean-Pierre Bemba and those of Roger Lumbala - eat pygmies."

Fighting along the Beni-Mambasa axis between the MLC and their RCD-N allies against the RCD-Kisangani-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-K-ML) of Mbusa Nyamwisi resumed just days after the signing on 17 December of a comprehensive power-sharing accord providing for a transitional government for the country. On 30 December, the three rebel movements signed an UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement; on the following day, however, they resumed hostilities.

This fighting has caused the displacement of 180,000 people since 17 December, according to the UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC. Sikulu said pygmies had also been displaced, but were not part of that number. "Even I have not had access to them, because, unlike the other populations, the pygmies are hiding in the forest 60 km north of Beni and are not in reception sites."

He said humanitarian bodies had reported 60,000 IDPs, but pointed out that another 130,000 had fled during the two-day end-of-year celebrations. In Ituri District, at least people 600,000 have been displaced since 1999.

RCD-K-ML Secretary-General Kolosso Sumahili told IRIN that he had received similar reports from IDPs. "People have seen - for the first time - that at least 3,000
pygmies have left their natural habitat because of war. It is a catastrophe," he said.

Kolosso also said that the MLC often used the sexual organs of their victims as charms, believing that these afforded enhanced vitality.

MONUC said it had been informed of the charges of cannibalism, but had been unable to verify the claims. "We are waiting for our observers to reach the area during their mission to monitor the 30 December ceasefire accord [and] to verify these grave accusations of human rights [abuses]," Gen Mountaga Diallo, the MONUC force commander, said.