Congo rebels accused of cannibalism

CONGO rebels were yesterday accused of cannibalism with witnesses describing the mutilation and eating of the dead during more than a week of tribal fighting that killed scores and forced thousands to flee.

Church leaders and residents in Bunia, the capital of the Ituri district, yesterday said Lendu tribal fighters killed civilians and combatants, cutting open their chests and ripping out hearts, livers and lungs, which they ate.

Superstitious beliefs, inexplicable hatred and a desire to settle old scores were the driving forces behind the acts of cannibalism, said Father Joseph Deneckere, a Belgian priest who has lived in Congo since 1970.

“Some of the victims had their sexual organs missing after the tribal fighters cut them off to use in their charms,” Fr Deneckere said.

Fighting in Bunia has subsided but frightened residents said they were terrified at the thought of it flaring up again.

The United Nations plans to investigate the reports of cannibalism, said Amos Namanga Ngongi, head of the UN mission in Congo.

The reports “cannot be so persistent and false,” he said.