Over 70 women and children killed in DR Congo in last fortnight

Reports indicate that over 70 persons have been killed in the east DR Congo border area over the past fortnight – the attacks, mostly on women and children were accompanied by rape, torture and mutilations bbc.com. This has been informed by an official of the UN.

The latest was the killing of at least 20 people near the DR Congo town of Beni. Earlier, another 26 people were killed, also near Beni.
A local pastor has reportedly indicated that the victims were killed with guns, machetes and axes in the village of Eringeti – it is believed that the killers had come from neighboring Uganda. The mayor of the town has accused a Ugandan Islamist group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), of that attack.

Both the DR Congolese army and the UN have bases in Eringeti, 55-Km from Beni and the UN mission in the DR Congo has earned criticism for failing to protect civilians.