More than 300 people are reported to have been killed in a massacre in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is understood the killings took place on Monday night, but news of the deaths is just emerging. The Rome-based missionary news agency Misna reported the deaths saying the main rebel group, the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy, was responsible. The agency said hundreds of women, old people, children and men were shot or knifed to death in a slaughter lasting almost 10 hours. The bodies of many of the victims were said to have been thrown into a river.
Yesterday, the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, said he wanted his troops to withdraw from Congo as soon as possible and he called on the United Nations to uphold its commitment to send peacekeepers to the country. The Congolese Rally for Democracy have played a key role in the uprising against the country's president Laurent Kabila.
