Rwanda-backed rebels killed over 140 civilians in eastern Congo, rights group says
Human Rights Watch said 141 people, predominantly Hutus, were feared dead or missing after the attacks near Virunga National Park in North Kivu province, citing local experts and witness accounts.
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Toronto Sun
2 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Rwanda-backed rebels killed over 140 civilians in eastern Congo, rights group says
DAKAR, Senegal — Rwanda-backed rebels killed at least 140 people in farming communities in eastern Congo in July, a human rights group said in a report Wednesday, describing the killings as 'summary executions.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Human Rights Watch said 141 people, predominantly Hutus, were feared dead or missing after the attacks near Virunga National Park in North Kivu province, citing local experts and witness accounts. Nearly 2 million Hutus from Rwanda fled to Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed 800,000 Tutsi, moderate Hutus and others. Rwandan authorities accused the Hutus who fled of participating in the genocide, alleging that the Congolese army protected them. It said the killings appeared to be part of a military campaign by the M23 group, the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in eastern Congo, against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a mostly Hutu armed group. Please try again The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content 'The M23 armed group, which has Rwandan government backing, attacked over a dozen villages and farming areas in July and committed dozens of summary executions of primarily Hutu civilians,' said Clementine de Montjoye, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. Witnesses said M23 soldiers, accompanied by Rwandan soldiers who were identified by their accents, told them to 'immediately bury the bodies in the fields or leave them unburied, preventing families from organizing funerals,' the report said. One woman described being marched in a group to a riverbank near the town of Kafuru. The group of around 70 people was lined up before the soldiers began shooting at them. 47 people, including children, who were killed were identified, the report added.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
U.S.-led coalition captures a senior Islamic State member in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — A U.S.-led coalition captured a senior member of the Islamic State group in northwest Syria on Wednesday, state media and a war monitor reported. It was not immediately clear if the man is the IS supreme leader. The U.S. military did not respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. The operation that included landing troops from helicopters occurred before dawn in Atmeh town near the Turkish border, and an IS commander known as Abu Hafs al-Qurayshi, an Iraqi citizen, was taken away while another Iraqi citizen was killed, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said the man captured had a French-speaking woman with him, and it was not immediately clear if she was taken by the U.S. force or by Syrian security forces who later cordoned the area. Two years ago, IS announced that a man called Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi was named as its new leader after Turkish authorities killed his predecessor. Syrian state TV on Wednesday quoted an unnamed security official as saying the Iraqi man targeted in the operation is known as Ali, adding that his real name is Salah Noman. It said Noman was living in an apartment with his wife, son and mother. It said he was killed in the raid. There was no immediate clarification for the difference in names reported by state media and the war monitor. IS broke away from al-Qaida more than a decade ago and attracted supporters from around the world after it declared a so-called caliphate in 2014 in large parts of Syria and Iraq. Despite its defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, IS militants still carry out deadly attacks in both countries and elsewhere. Al-Qurayshi is not the real name of IS leaders but comes from Quraish, the name of the tribe to which Islam's Prophet Muhammad belonged. IS claims its leaders hail from the tribe, and 'al-Qurayshi' is part of their nom de guerre.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
An unidentified flying object has crashed and exploded in Poland's east
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An unidentified flying object crashed into a cornfield and exploded in eastern Poland early Wednesday, the country's news agency PAP reported. Local police said they received reports of the crash around 2 a.m. and found burned metal and plastic debris at the scene, near the village of Osiny. As a result of the explosion, windows were broken in some houses but nobody was injured, PAP reported. Poland's Armed Forces Operational Command said Wednesday on social media that no violations of Polish airspace from neighboring Ukraine or Belarus were recorded overnight. Officials initially said the explosion may have been caused by a part of an old engine with a propeller. Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz later said the object was most likely a drone, adding that an analysis was underway to determine whether it was a military or smuggling one, PAP reported. Lublin District Prosecutor Grzegorz Trusiewicz told reporters several investigators — both civilian and military — were examining the crash site. 'We have a lot of manpower, we have the army to help us. I hope that we will be able to finish the operation by the evening,' Trusiewicz said. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, there have been a number of intrusions into Polish airspace, raising alarm in the European Union and NATO member state and reminding people how close the war is.
