By Justin Kabumba, GOMA DR
Congo
A soldier in northeastern Congo opened fire on family members and others who had buried his son before he could arrive home to attend the ceremony, killing 13 people, including 10 children, officials said Sunday.
The attack late Saturday left
the soldier’s wife, in-laws and two of his children dead, before he turned his
weapon on other civilians, said Lt. Jules Ngongo, a spokesman for the army in
Ituri province, where the killings took place.
The soldier was not
identified.
The soldier arrived home from his post at
another village in the province to find family and community members gathered
in mourning for his son, who died Thursday of natural causes, said Baraka
Muguwa Oscar, the local village chief.
“This soldier did not like the
fact that his son … was buried without his approval and in his absence,” Oscar
said.
Elements
of the Congolese army were dispatched to apprehend the soldier, a member of the
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or FARDC, who fled the scene
after the attack.
“No matter what the case, the
time or the circumstances, you can’t take a person’s life. This is an act of
indiscipline that will be dealt with by the courts,” said Ngongo, the army
spokesperson.
Fighting in eastern Congo has
been simmering for decades as more than 120 groups fight for power, land and
valuable mineral resources, while others try to defend their communities.
Earlier this week, the United Nations warned of a surge in violence in the
country’s northeast.
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