Armed men beat up and rob 100 civilians in DR Congo

Armed men in military uniform have beaten up and robbed a group of about 100 people, mostly traders, who were travelling in convoy in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an official said Wednesday.

The victims were on their way overnight Monday from Beni to Kasindi in the troubled Nord-Kivu province on board several vehicles when they were stopped and "robbed by about a dozen armed men," said the chairman of the local civil society, Omar Kavota.

Speaking by phone, Kavota added that the robbers were "dressed like troops of the FARDC (DR Congo armed forces), wearing balaclavas and carrying weapons." They struck at night and "got away with thousands of (US) dollars."

Kavota said most of the victims were "brutalised and beaten up before being robbed."

The FARDC commander in Nord-Kivu, Colonel Bobo Kakudji, could not be reached for comment early Wednesday.

Kavota was unable to confirm whether the attack reported to him by victims was carried out by regular soldiers or by bandits, in a region where he said there have been "very frequent attacks".

A non-governmental organisation he heads has registered more than 30 such attacks on civilians since the start of this year.

"We have informed the administrative and military authorities" in the region, not far from Lake Edward and the border with Uganda, Kavota added.

Last weekend, at least six civilians were killed and several others were injured in attacks on vehicles blamed on Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

This year the FARDC and the Rwandan army carried out a joint operation against the FDLR, but its main effect was to drive the rebels away from the populated areas and into the forest, whence it carries out raids on villages and other civilian targets.

The east of the DR Congo is the most unstable region of the country because of the presence of several armed groups which have been active there for more than a decade.