A young woman accused of witchcraft was burned alive in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday, while in another town two men were burned for suspected rape, a radio station reported.
The woman was stoned and then burned in Bugara, a neighbourhood in the eastern town of Rutshuru, the United Nations-backed broadcaster Radio Okapi reported.
Local residents accused the woman of having ”bewitched” her neighbour who had recently died, a police source cited by the radio station said.
In nearby Katweguru, two men were burned alive by locals who accused them of raping a woman. The two were also suspected of involvement in recent armed robberies in the area, Radio Okapi said, citing local authorities.
Attacks against people accused of witchcraft have often been reported in the vast Central African country, whose eastern regions still bear the scars of a devastating 1998-2003 civil war.
Victims are often charged with witchcraft by a witchdoctor and made to pay for the death of a relation by being handed over to the public to be killed. — Sapa-AFP