Banyamulenge at “imminent risk”, group warns

Hate speech and communal violence directed against Congolese Tutsi Banyamulenge have increased alarmingly in North and South Kivu provinces, setting the stage for a “bloody confrontation” that could potentially engulf the entire Great Lakes region, Refugees International said on Thursday. In a statement, it said an estimated 150,000 Banyamulenge were now at “imminent risk” of violent attack by Mayi-Mayi militia. The promotion of ethnic tensions by President Laurent-Desire Kabila threatened to bring down the Lusaka Accords and to “plunge Congo back into full-scale war”, it stated.

“Feelings are running at fever pitch” since the rebel RCD-Goma refused to permit Bishop Emmanuel Kataliko to return to his Bukavu diocese, and public sentiment against the Banyamulenge had now “turned ugly”. The statement cited the recent example of a dog killed and dragged behind a car in Bukavu with crowds shouting, “This is how you treat Tutsis!”. Refugees International called on religious leaders, RCD authorities and the diplomatic community to take steps to calm tensions in the Kivus and avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.