Unexplained killings in South Kivu

Killings continue being perpetrated along the main road linking Uvira to Bukavu, both in South Kivu in eastern DRC, a local source told IRIN on Tuesday. The trend, he says, has caused fear in the area, prompting people to flee to “safer” areas. It has also left travellers wishing to move from Uvira to Bukavu (or vice versa), “with no options but to go to Cibitoke via Bujumbura and then o to Bukavu, or get there through Cyangugu in Rwanda”. “The situation is still tense,” he noted. According to the source, local authorities have held a meeting with local communities to “discuss the situation and hopefully find solutions”.

“The attacks have caused a lot of humanitarian problems. The road is closed. Many villages, such as Katanga, Katobo and those above Uvira, have been destroyed, resulting in hundreds of displacements,” he said. It was, however, “very difficult to know who is behind or sponsoring the attacks. There is a climate of anarchy,” he noted. He said he believed that the Mayi Mayi (with numerous leaders), the Interahamwe, the Forces de defense pour la democratie (FDD) and Banyamulenge militias were responsible for the mayhem. “Some of the groups could be affiliated to the government, but it is hard to tell. They all seem to be driven by their own selfish and destructive motives,” he added.