Rebels may be guilty of war crimes

GENEVA: A Ugandan Islamist rebel group committed human rights abuses in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last year that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a UN report published yesterday.

The Allied Democratic Forces killed at least 237 civilians in the last quarter of last year, including 65 women and 35 children, the UN human rights office said.

“In total, ADF combatants attacked 35 villages. Attackers used machetes, hammers and knives, among other weapons, to wound or execute civilians.

“Some had their throats slit, were shot at while trying to flee or were burned alive in their homes.”

Civil society groups in eastern Congo said the ADF had killed 13 people with machetes and hatchets in two overnight assaults over the past week.

“These violations, which were both systematic and extremely brutal, may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the UN said.

Dozens of armed factions are active in Congo’s chaotic east, continuing to fight for control over its vast reserves of gold, diamonds and tin following a 1998 to 2003 war that killed millions and drew in more than six neighbouring countries.

The report said civilians in the Beni area were vulnerable to violence. – Reuters