More than 400 dead since October 2014

Following a new massacre committed by Islamist rebels, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands better protection of the civilian population in northeastern Congo. "Local human rights groups in northeastern Congo have been demanding more measures to protect civilians from rebel attacks for the last seven months. Politicians and the UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO have been promising more effective protection for the last seven months, but the massacres continue. Thus, the UN peacekeeping forces are losing their credibility," said Ulrich Delius, the STP's Africa- consultant in Göttingen on Sunday. After all, the Security Council's mandate clearly states that the peacekeepers are supposed to protect the civilian population from violent attacks. During the night from Friday to Saturday, seven people were killed with machetes and hoes – supposedly by Ugandan ADF rebels – in the town of Beni (North Kivu). More than 400 people in the region of Beni were killed in similar massacres since October 2014. A total number of 38 people died in violent attacks in the town and the nearby villages during the last three weeks alone.

The most recent murder occurred in Mulekera, about 12 kilometers from Beni, on Friday night. Masked gunmen in military uniforms invaded the place, dragged the adults out of their homes and hacked them to death with machetes, hoes and spades – in the streets, in front of their children. There were two women were among the victims. The attackers stole goats and other domestic animals and looted the houses and stables.

On April 15, 2015, rebels killed 18 civilians in the vicinity of Beni, and 17 people were killed with machetes on February 3, 2015. Three civilians were massacred on February 2 – and the attackers did not even spare the UN peacekeepers: on May 5, 2015, two UN soldiers died in an ADF ambush. In consequence, MONUSCO announced more harsh measures against the ADF. "But the civilian population in Beni does not have much confidence that the peacekeepers will be able to offer effective protection. So far, all initiatives against the ADF-terrorists have been ineffective," said Delius.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are an Ugandan rebel group. It operates from northeastern Congo, has approximately 500 fighters, and is trying to introduce the sharia in Uganda. The group – which was founded in 1998 – recruits most of its members from among the Muslim population, but also consists of forcibly recruited child soldiers and deportees from refugee camps and villages.

Header Photo: Flickr/United Nations Photo