Congo rebels accused of cannibalism

Congo rebels were today accused of cannibalism with terrified 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, said today that Lendu tribal fighters killed civilians and combatants, cutting open their chests and ripping out hearts, livers and lungs, which they ate while they were still warm.

Superstitious beliefs, inexplicable hatred and a desire to settle old scores were the driving forces behind the acts of cannibalism, said Fr 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,” Deneckere said.

Fighting in Bunia subsided on Friday but the town remained tense and frightened residents said they were terrified at the thought of it flaring up again.

“The sight of a corpse with a missing liver and heart is horrific, especially when you know that those parts were eaten by fellow human beings and that the same could happen to you,” said Acquitte Kisembo, a 28-year-old medical student.

He said he saw several bodies with missing parts.

The United Nations is taking the allegations seriously and 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 in Bunia. “There cannot be so much talk of such things if it is false.”

Reports of cannibalism are not new to Ituri.

In January, UN investigators confirmed that rebels had carried out cannibalism, rape, torture and killing in the province late last year.

Similar reports emerged after an April massacre of up to 1,000 people in Drodro, near Bunia, and 14 surrounding villages, UN officials said.