By Prensa Latina,
Kinshasa : Detachments of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) murdered at least 36 civilians between the Congolese towns of Masisi and Walikale, UN radio reported.
According to the source, which quoted a communiqué from the pro-government Mai-Mai forces, the FDLR combatants plundered the towns of Melembe, Mianga, Katambira and Nyamimba, located in the zone of Walikale, in addition to several villages in Masisi, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The attacks took place on January 26, after several armed groups announced their incorporation into the armed forces, as part of the peace process, UN radio said.
This is a reaction by groups opposed to President Paul Kagame, whose army and troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo have unleashed an offensive against rebels from the two countries.
In that offensive, Kinshasa is trying to neutralize the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), whose leader, Laurent Nkunda, was arrested by Rwandan authorities.
Kigali, in turn, wants to eliminate the FDLR, which was involved in the 1994 genocide, as a result of which more than 800,000 Hutus and Tutsis were killed. Mai-Mai spokesman Didier Bitaki noted that the rebels, armed with knifes and automatic weapons, killed all Congolese people they found in their way.
Bitaki called on Kinshasa to take all measures necessary to ensure the security of civilians in the regions where the murders took place.