New Year`s Eve Beni Massacre

New Year`s Eve Beni Massacre

by PD Lawton   3 January 2021

Image: Child survivor of Kipupu Massacre, South Kivu. The blood on her clothing is from her mother who was dismembered.

On New Year`s Eve, another 25 villagers were murdered in a village in Beni, North Kivu Province of Congo.

The massacre took place in the village of Tingwe, about eight kilometers from the town of Eringeti.

Congo` s Armed Forces (FARDC) saw to the burial of the victims on Saturday. The bodies were badly dismembered. Video footage circulating on social media showed the burials of 2 families. The remains of their bodies, wrapped in plastic sheeting, were so disfigured that they looked like shapeless bundles as they were laid to rest. Video footage showed what appeared to be 3 members of the same family and others in separate graves.

According to AFP :

Source of quote:

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/01/642015/DR-Congo-attack-ADF-militia

The head of the civil society organization in Tingwe, Bravo Mohindo Vukulu, said at least 30 had died.

“People had gone to their fields to prepare for New Year’s Eve, the ADF picked them up one by one,” he said.

“We had alerted our forces that the ADF had passed through from the east to the northeast of Eringeti. They did not react quickly,” he added.

end of quote

800 people, all non-combatants including women and children have been violently murdered in North Kivu in 2020. The situation is the same in South Kivu and Ituri making a total of 1,316 civilians who have been murdered in militias attacks and ethnic cleanses in 2020.

Over 1 million Congolese have been displaced from eastern Congo in 2020, according to the United Nations.

On the 16 July 2020, 220 villagers were murdered in Kipupu, a village in South Kivu.

The murders are conducted in utterly brutal ways by armed groups who want to terrorize the Congolese people who live in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri.

It does not matter what these armed groups want to call themselves. Yesterday they were called M23, today they are called ADF and tomorrow they will probably have a different name. The destabilization of eastern Congo, through low-intensity war, is being operated by Rwanda`s current administration. Rwanda profits from the rare-earth minerals such as coltun. The long term aim is said to be the annexation of Congolese territory by Rwanda.

MONUSCO`s prescence has been called into question over the years for its seemingly ineffective operation that is supposed to protect civilians. High ranking FARDC military personnel are suspected of being involved in supporting the blackmarket in resources and its networks of militias.

 

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