• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: Protect civilians in Ituri, Human Rights Watch urges Uganda

NAIROBI, 8 April 2003 (IRIN) - Following reports of a massacre of about 1,000 civilians on Thursday in Ituri district, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Ugandan forces to prevent further civilian deaths in the region.

In an open letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, HRW said on Monday that the killing of civilians in Drodro and Blukwa in Ituri "is the latest in a surge of killings and other serious human rights abuses that have taken place in the area".

"This massacre follows a horrific pattern we've seen in Ituri in recent months, where military operations often turn into the slaughter of civilians," said Alison Des Forges, senior advisor for HRW Africa division.

HRW said that reports from the field suggested that Lendu militias, "who may have been supported by Ugandan soldiers, attacked remnants of the recently ousted Union des patriots congolais (UPC) Hema forces". HRW said the Ugandan forces had a responsibility to prevent such killings by their own troops and their allies.

However, the commander of the Ugandan forces controlling Ituri, Brig Kale Kayihura, told IRIN on Sunday that Ugandan troops were not in Drodo when the massacre occurred. He said they heard about the massacre on Thursday and got to Drodro on Saturday, when they were able to secure the area.

Kayihura estimated that between 300 to 400 had been killed in the attacks. He said the Lendu fighters attacking Drodro, Mbulukwa and Largo had used "mostly cutlasses, bows and arrows." The Hema villagers had not put up a fight, he said.

News reports on Monday said the governments of France, the United States and the United Kingdom condemned the Drodro massacre. In a press release issued from New York on Monday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanded that basic human rights of civilians be respected in Ituri. "The reported massacres underscore the need for the local leaders to participate fully in the Ituri Pacification Commission, which has been established to find peaceful solutions in this troubled region," Annan said.

Fighting between the Lendu and Hema communities dates back years, but has intensified in the last four years. The Ituri Pacification Commission (IPC), involving representatives of armed groups and local communities in the district, opened in Bunia, the principal town in Ituri district, on 4 April.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Human Rights

[ENDS]

The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003