AFRICA/DR CONGO - Another massacre in North Kivu: 200 people were killed in the area in October

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - More than a hundred people were killed on November 20 in the region of Beni, in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. According to a note sent to Agenzia Fides by the Coordination of Civil Society in North Kivu, "the most appalling massacre took place in broad daylight, between 2 and 7 pm on Thursday 20 November, in the villages of Tepiomba and Vemba".
According to the note, at least 200 people were killed on October 2 in a series of attacks in several villages in the area. Other testimony sent to Fides state that the assailants presented themselves to villageres wearing the regular Congolese army uniform, with the excuse of protecting them. Once they gained their confidence, they started the massacre.
The coordination of civil society "is shocked and denounces the executions perpetrated with a machete by terrorists of the ADF-NALU or by their allies in the area of Beni" and calls on the Congolese security forces and MONUC (UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) to face the challenge launched by the ADF-NALU, the group of Ugandan origin who have long raged in the region.
At the same time, representatives of civil society urge the authorities "greater professionalism and objectivity, so they do not confuse the guilty with the innocent". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 24/11/2014)