NGO: Hutu rebels kill civilians as they flee army forces

Latest update: 13/02/2009

- DR Congo - NGOs - Rwanda

Hutu rebels in the Congo's North Kivu province are turning on civilians as they come under pressure from a joint Congolese-Rwandan offensive, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch.

By Clea CAULCUTT (text)

Arnaud Zajtman (video)

In January 2009, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo – who had for years backed separate sides in fighting in the eastern Congolese province of North Kivu – reached an agreement to mount a joint operation to flush out militias in the region. The armed groups have caused more than a decade of war and suffering. <br />  <br /> The DR Congo allowed the Rwandan army to enter its territory to root out an estimated 6,000 members of the FDLR, Hutu fighters who fled to Congo after participating in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. <br /> <br /> However, according to Human Rights Watch's Anneka Van Woudenberg, the retreating Hutu rebels are killing civilians in anger as the Rwandan and Congolese armies advance.

Related links

FRANCE 24: Who is the FDLR and why have they been attacking civilians?

Anneka Van Woudenberg: The Rwandan Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) are Rwandan Hutu militias who have been living in the hills of the North Kivu province of the Congo for the past 15 years. Many of them participated in the Rwandan genocide [in 1994]. In the past month, they have been targeting predominantly Hutu civilians they had been forcibly living with. The Hutu militias accuse civilians of betraying them. We estimate the number of deaths to have reached over 100 and the killings have been taking place in the most brutal manner. We haven’t seen this level of violence in a long time.

F24: Weren’t the Hutu militias cohabiting with these local Hutu civilians? Why have they turned against them?

AVW: Yes, they were cohabiting but ever since the DR Congo and Rwanda agreed on a dramatic policy shift in January, the Congolese army has turned against the Hutu militias. It’s a classic example of 'my friend’s enemies are my enemies' and of shifting alliances. The Congolese army and the Rwandan Defence Forces have launched a joint operation against the Hutu militias and as they approach FDLR positions, militiamen have been killing civilians in anger. I must add that, though the operation is a joint Rwandan-Congolese offensive, the bulk of the joint forces on the ground are Rwandan, who are predominately Tutsi and have been wanting to crush the Hutus for a long time. The FDLR have also blocked civilians from fleeing and have taken some of them back to their military base to use them as human shields.

F24: What proof do you have that the killings were perpetrated by Hutu militias and not by other armed groups in the region?

AVW: We have spoken to dozens of witnesses and victims as they fled the region and moved to displaced persons camps near the North Kivu town of Goma. And they know the FDLR very well because they have been living with their members for years. We have heard heartbreaking accounts of public meetings organised by the Hutu militiamen during which they accused the civilian population of betraying them. They told civilians: we will hold you responsible and we are sharpening our spears. The accounts took some time to trickle through because the civilians did not know where to run to and have been taking long routes through the hills, not knowing who would shoot at them next.