Local reporters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have said that a deadly ethnic clash during the weekend in the eastern part of the country has left about 37 people dead and dozen others wounded.
The attack was said to have happened in the village of Mutarule in the dangerous South Kivu Province. The South Kivu Province has been the hub for many armed militants for years since the start of the Second Congo War in August 1998.
Reporters quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the dead included women and children and some of the women were even pregnant.
The victims were said to have been shot, stabbed or burned inside their homes by the attackers, who officials say carried out the attack on ethnic grounds.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack but officials say the area has been recently hit by clashes between the Bafuliru and the Barundi ethnic group. It was the Bafuliru ethnic group who were attacked.
Some locals from the Congolese Bafuliru tribe blamed rebels from Burundi’s National Liberation Forces (FNL) for aiding the Barundi ethnic with weapons and ammunitions against them.
The Reuters African Service quoted the governor of the South Kivu province, Marcellin Cishambo as saying that the problem is as a result of the many armed groups in the area, allowing the communities to have access to weapons.
“It is Congolese who have carried out these attacks, it was about a dispute over cows and the problem is that everyone in this area carries a weapon, it is not a good situation here”, Governor Cishambo said.
The South Kivu province is a mountainous area and is rich in minerals including gold, diamond, bauxite and many others but the area has been in turmoil since the end of Congo Second War in 2005.
Dozen armed groups still operate in the region as a result of the weakness of the Central government in Kinshasa to take full control of the country.
With a population of 75.5 million, the Democratic Republic of Congo covers 2,344,858 square km of land in the centre of Africa, making it the 12th largest country in the world.
The Country has abundant mineral wealth. It has more than 70% of the world’s coltan which is used to make vital components of mobile phones, 30% of the planet’s diamond reserves and vast deposits of cobalt, copper and bauxite.
But the country has been in turmoil since nationalist leader; Patrice Lumumba led the country to gain independence from the Belgium in 1960. Patrice Lumumba was subsequently assassinated with the help of Belgian and the United States intelligence officers.
Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News
Writer’s Email Address: Adamsiska@googlemail.com
[adrotate group=”15″]
