Hazukay said the killings appeared to be revenge for a series of
attacks launched by Nande Mai Mai militias against the FDLR. The Nande,
who dominate commerce in North Kivu, are historic rivals of the local
Hutu.
Hutu militia kill 14 from rival ethnic group in east Congo: army(africajournalismtheworld)
Rwandan Hutu rebels killed 14 civilians from a rival ethnic group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
early on Thursday morning and wounded nine, the army said, in a sign of
the ethnic tensions that persist in the conflict-torn region.
Fighters from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
(FDLR) attacked the ethnic Nande civilians in the town of Lubero in
North Kivu province at around 2 a.m. (0000 GMT), said Mak Hazukay, a
local spokesman for Congo's army.
Hazukay said the killings appeared to be revenge for a series of attacks launched by Nande Mai Mai militias against the FDLR. The Nande, who dominate commerce in North Kivu, are historic rivals of the local Hutu.
"For
some time now, the FDLR and Mai Mai have fought over the zone and that
has provoked high tensions between the two communities," Hazukay said.
The
Centre of Study for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights
(CEPADHO), an activist group that documents violence in North Kivu,
confirmed the death toll of 14 and said the victims had been shot or
hacked to death.
The FDLR's spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
Ethnic
rivalries, foreign invasions and competition for land and rich mineral
deposits among in eastern Congo's dozens of rebel groups have fuelled
persistent conflict that has cost millions of lives over the last two
decades.
The FDLR, a Hutu militia founded by some
of the perpetrators of Rwanda's 1994 genocide who fled into neighbouring
Congo, is the largest rebel group, estimated by analysts to have more
than 1,000 members.
Congo's army attacked the FDLR
last February. The FDLR accuses Congolese forces of collaborating with
local rebel groups to attack Hutu civilians, a charge the government
denies.
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