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Isiro: former rebel soldiers responsible for extortion and violence

Misna

07 oct. 05 - 07.32h

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The civil population of the extreme north of the Democratic Republic of Congo is on a daily basis submitted to extortion by former rebel soldiers, as denounced by the provincial superior of the Comboni missionaries in DR-Congo, Father Fermo Bernasconi, in a telephone conversation with MISNA from Isiro, main city of the Haut Uélé district. ?The extortions take place regularly along the road that takes from Isiro to Watsa, a key route that extends for 340km in direction of the Ugandan border?, specifies Fr. Bernasconi, 54, of which 19 spent in Congo, adding to have gathered some testimonies around the locations of Dungu and Faradje. ?The soldiers force the people passing to consign their few belongings, food or money, stealing their means of transport, if any, and do not hesitate to resort to violence; the reports also indicate cases of women being raped?, says the missionary, explaining that the episodes have been taking place for several months. ?It is impossible to establish the number of victims of these violations, but the situation has become unbearable for the residents that in an attempt to escape the soldiers take refuge in the forest, far from the streets?, adds Fr. Bernasconi.

Those responsible for these acts are former rebels of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) once headed by Jean-Pierre Bemba, currently Vice-President, active during the war () backed by Uganda. Based on the peace accords these ex-rebels should have been censused and integrated in the unified armed forces, but it is unclear whether those active in the Isiro area have been regularised and receive salaries. The fear and preoccupation of the residents of the extreme north-eastern part of the country also escalated in the past two weeks due to the presence of some 400 Ugandan rebels of the Lord?s Resistance Army (LRA) that, after crossing into Congolese territory, refuse to disarm and represent a new threat to the region.

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