On the eve of the anniversary of last year's Christmas Day massacre of at least 477 civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the rebel Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the top United Nations humanitarian official called for stronger measures to protect civilians still vulnerable to attacks.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes noted that unconfirmed reports indicate that three attacks in just one week this month, between 14 and 20 December, resulted in 47 deaths.
Mr. Holmes call followed the release two days ago of a reports by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) charging the LRA with killing at least 1,200 people, abducting 1,400 and displacing some 230,000 others in DRC's Orientale province over a 10-month period from September 2008 to June 2009.
Dozens of attacks on towns and villages involved mutilations and torture. Women and girls were often raped before being killed, and many of those who were abducted "were forced to marry LRA members, subjected to sexual slavery, or both," said the report, jointly issued with the UN Mission in DRC (MONUC).
The LRA was formed in the late 1980s in Uganda and for over 15 years its attacks were mainly directed against Ugandan civilians and security forces, which in 2002 dislodged the rebels, who then exported their rampage to Uganda's neighbours. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for LRA Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Kony, and other senior officers on 33 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The Christmas Day massacre was the most devastating of the LRA's wave of synchronized attacks in the DRC, with two groups of between 100 and 150 LRA fighters each killing at least 477 civilians and abducting hundreds of others in two clusters of locations some 400 kilometres apart. It followed a MONUC-supported joint military offensive by Congolese, Ugandan and Sudanese troops and the LRA.
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Very good! Now the DR Congo to face challenges whereby civilians get left in limbo! Whom to be blamed, where justice is vested in the pocket of an individual(a compradorist). The inocents have been perfectly enjoying good suffering whenever possible, while the DRC state vandalise the Land via poor planning of politics. My advice to DRC patriotic citizens," True success and happiness are founded on serving the public before self". We may believe that the first responsibility of the State is to defend the Land. Here are the questions! Is our Constitution stronger enough to defend us? How strong the State is. Our always commercialises and the country,instead of administering the country's duties. People always rejoice their daily attrocities,good! Mr JOE KABILA cited in the Bible: Mathiews 7:5, Mr JOE now and then fringes the Laws of the country, now MONUC becomes a helper, while being unwitting fiduciary. LRA and EX-FAR-HINDERAHAMWA previously were honnestly backed up, as they were against the ever great foes(UGANDA and RWANDA) of DR CONGO in partnership with MAY MAY and other groups in order to defend the soverneity and dignity of their brothers' land-- now the hunterable ones, DR Congolese have already forgotten the "forgone", if so what next? Ugandese and Rwandese Armies imminently to come back again to death-teach D R Congolese. The solution here is to share the same stake of DR Congo together as our brothers who seek protection shelter, I mean these people have to be naturalised/granted DR Congolese citizenship as we did to the former Rwandian refugees now called BANYAMULENGE. Because BANYAMUNLENGE killed innocent people. Why not these people who protected the citizens? If we naturalise them, they will never be terrorists and become good citizens of the for the sake of our future prospects. Dear patriots, I need your support, advocation and commitment towards this sugestion. Thank you!