More than 100 killed in Congo clashes days before vote More than 100 people have died in clashes between rival ethnic groups in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo this week, local activists said on Wednesday. The fighting between the Batende and Banunu ethnic groups broke out on Sunday over the disputed location of a Banunu chief’s burial, said Jules Bango, an activist in the town of Yumbi, on the banks of the Congo River. “Today we have identified almost 120 deaths, and there are 71 others wounded in the hospital,” Bango told Reuters. Many people had fled across the river into neighboring Congo Republic, he added. He said the upcoming elections, in which Batende leaders are supporting the ruling coalition and Banunu leaders are backing opposition candidates, have raised tensions between the two groups.

Source: Standard Digital December 19, 2018 12:39 UTC