FDLR rebels kill 10 civilians in eastern Congo

Tue Oct 27, 2009

The UN says Hutu rebels of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have attacked in an area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least ten civilians.

The incident happened over the weekend when the rebels ambushed civilian vehicles in the eastern province of North Kivu, Reuters reported.

A UN-backed radio station put the civilian death toll at 10 in the area, where there has been surge in attacks over the past few months.

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in the region since Congo launched an offensive against the FDLR in January.

The UN-backed operation has been criticized for provoking reprisal attacks by the FDLR against civilians.

In the eastern Congo, the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and Rwandan Hutu rebels of the FDLR have caused untold suffering for thousands of civilians.

The Great Lakes region has been destabilized since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which some LRA members participated in.

And the eastern Congo has experienced interminable cycles of violence since 1998.

The war in the Congo has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.4 million people dead.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/109789.html.