Since June 15, 2001, over 800 suspected witches were hacked to death in villages in rebel-held northeastern Congo. "Villagers were saying that some people had bewitched others, and they started lynching them. By the time we discovered this, 60 people had already been killed by early last week. About 200 people lost their lives," Brig. Henry Tumukunde said.
Ugandan troops -- who had been in northeastern Congo since 1998 in support of a rebellion against the Congolese government but had been evacuated earlier in the year -- were sent back to the area to stop the killings. The killings began in Aru, 50 miles south of Sudan on the Ugandan border, but have quickly spread throughout northeastern Congo. Diseases and other troubles endemic to the region were being blamed on witchcraft which in turn led to the rampaging violence. Of course its the children who suffer most. Unfortunately young children are among the first tracked down for witchcraft.
Ugandan troops -- who had been in northeastern Congo since 1998 in support of a rebellion against the Congolese government but had been evacuated earlier in the year -- were sent back to the area to stop the killings. The killings began in Aru, 50 miles south of Sudan on the Ugandan border, but have quickly spread throughout northeastern Congo. Diseases and other troubles endemic to the region were being blamed on witchcraft which in turn led to the rampaging violence. Of course its the children who suffer most. Unfortunately young children are among the first tracked down for witchcraft.
No comments:
Post a Comment