100 killed in Congo clashes

KINSHASA, Thursday

Inter-ethnic fighting in the northwestern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in the deaths of 100 people and the displacement of 25,000 others, the United Nations said yesterday.

Many of the victims drowned while crossing the Oubangui river in an attempt to reach the sanctuary of the neighbouring Republic of Congo, Mr Maurizio Giuliano of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The UN human rights agency put the toll at 60 dead on November 6, but OCHA said yesterday the number was far higher.

The Munzaya and Enyele tribes clashed over land and fishing rights in the region around Dongo in the northwestern Equateur Province on October 28 and 29.

OCHA said the clashes sparked an exodus of around 25,000 inhabitants of Dongo and the surrounding area, the vast majority of them heading to Congo.

The first violence between these ethnic groups broke out in March 2009, when almost 200 huts were burned and 1,200 people sought refuge across the border, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Landed in lava

Meanwhile, a UN-run radio station said a passenger plane overshot a runway in eastern Congo and landed in lava, injuring 20 people.

Radio Okapi said the plane was flying from Kinshasa to Goma today and passengers had warned the crew that there were heavy clouds.

One passenger told the station that the plane had landed in lava near Goma’s airport.

An official from the UN mission in Congo, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he does not have permission to speak to the media, said there were 117 passengers aboard.

They included the governor of North Kivu Province, who was not hurt. (Agencies)