U.N. accuses rebels, militia of war crimes in Congo

November 9, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

KIBATI, Congo (AP) — Rebels and pro-government militiamen executed civilians this week in two waves of terror that the top U.N envoy to Congo said Saturday amount to war crimes — ones that highlight the inability of undermanned U.N. peacekeepers to protect civilians.

Meanwhile, Congo’s army advanced toward rebel lines Saturday, with renewed fighting near the provincial capital of Goma threatening a fragile cease-fire.

Fighting broke out Friday near Kibati, about six miles north of Goma. By Saturday morning the army had moved more than half a mile north into a no man’s land that had been unpatrolled since the rebels called a cease-fire 10 days ago after routing the army.

U.N. envoy Alan Doss said “war crimes that we cannot tolerate” were committed at Kiwanja by rebel leader Laurent Nkunda’s fighters and by Mai Mai militiamen supporting the government.

U.N. investigators on Friday visited 11 graves containing what villagers said were 26 bodies, U.N. spokeswoman Sylvie van den Wildenberg said. New York-based Human Rights Watch said the death toll could be higher.

“We are getting reports of more than 50 dead, but we are still in the process of confirming that information,” Anneke Van Woudenberg, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, told The Associated Press.

Van den Wildenberg and Dietrich said it appeared the rebels committed many more executions than the militia.

U.N. peacekeepers have a well-established base in Kiwanja, about 50 miles north of Goma, but it has only 120 soldiers in the town of 30,000 to 50,000.

They were pinned down under crossfire for some of the first day of the killings Tuesday, and were hampered because militiamen were hiding in houses among civilians, military spokesman Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich told The Associated Press.

Even in the crossfire, the peacekeepers ventured from their camp to rescue 15 aid workers who had come to do the first assessment of humanitarian needs behind rebel lines in weeks, Dietrich said.

Peacekeepers also were trying to deter rebel attacks on two other towns, Nyanzale and Kikuku, on Wednesday when the killings in Kiwanja continued, he said.

The peacekeepers carried out small patrols in Kiwanja and were fired at by militia, he said. The peacekeepers returned fire.

“It’s very difficult to protect thousands of civilians, especially at night,” Dietrich said.