/ 20 May 1999

DRC HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE

BOTH government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been accused of extreme human rights abuse. Revolutionary United Front rebels have committed “scores of atrocities” against civilians, according to a press release sent out on Monday by Human Rights Watch. The international human rights organisation based its charge on the testimonies of survivors who described decapitations, amputations of hands, mouths and ears and scores of abductions of women and children by the RUF in the regions of Port Loko and Masiaka, some 50km northeast of Freetown. Amnesty International has expressed concern over the execution of at least 46 people since April 1999, an Amnesty statement said on Wednesday. It said the majority of executions were ordered by a military court after “unfair trials.”