Children slaughtered in Congo atrocity

Fighters from Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army have hacked or beaten to death at least 321 Congolese villagers in one of the worst single atrocities of their 23-year insurgency.

The attacks occurred in a remote part of northern Democratic Republic of Congo between December 14 and 17 last year, but their scale has only now been made public.

Human Rights Watch, which yesterday released a report on the mass killings, says most of the dead were men who had been tied up and then cut with machetes, or had their skulls crushed with axes or clubs.

A 3-year-old girl was burnt to death. Family members later found many of the battered bodies still bound to trees.

More than 250 civilians, including 80 children, were seized during the raid that left a stench of death in the Makombo area of Haut Uele district, the report said.

The attacks were allegedly ordered by General Dominic Ongwen, a fugitive from the International Criminal Court.

United Nations human rights officials in Congo corroborated the account. They recorded the names of 100 victims and 150 abductees.

But Todd Howland, director of the UN's joint human rights office in Congo, said the Red Cross had reported burying 250 people and the death toll was likely to be higher.

The massacre is a reminder of the threat posed by the LRA rebels, who became notorious for kidnapping children and their brutal killing methods during the 18 years they terrorised Uganda before moving to Congo.

It also highlights the chronic failure of governments in the region and the international community to protect civilians.

LRA rebels have killed 1600 Congolese civilians and abducted more than 2500 since September 2008, after peace talks broke down.

Yet the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as Monuc, has only established three bases in Haut Uele and Bas Uele - an area the size of Belgium - housing about 1000 troops.

The Human Rights Watch report said the rebels used similar tactics in each village they encountered during their 105km round journey.

Pretending to be Congolese and Ugandan soldiers, they told villagers not to be afraid. Once people had gathered, they were seized.

"Those who were abducted, including many children aged 10 to 15 years old, were tied with ropes or metal wire at the waist, often in human chains of five to 15 people.

"They were made to carry the goods the LRA had pillaged and then forced to march off with them. Anyone who refused, or walked too slowly, or who tried to escape, was killed. Children were not spared."

The LRA Militia

* Established: 23 years ago

* Considered: One of Africa's most brutal rebel armies. Its leaders are the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

* Based: Originally in Uganda, the rebels were pushed into the area straddling the northern Congolese border with Central African Republic.

* Atrocities: The 2009 massacre is only the most recent of a pattern of atrocities. After the governments of the region attacked an LRA position, the rebels retaliated by killing at least 865 civilians during the Christmas 2008 holiday season, according to Human Rights Watch.

- OBSERVER, AP