Rebels kill 500 in Congo revenge massacres

Nairobi: Rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army have murdered about 500 people in a series of massacres in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The gunmen, who terrorised Northern Uganda for more than 20 years, have turned a remote area of north-eastern Congo into their new killing ground.

An offensive mounted by Uganda's army appears to have scattered the insurgents, who are now carrying out revenge attacks on innocent villagers. Scores of people were hacked and burned to death in a massacre inside a church on Boxing Day. Since then, mass killings have taken place in the towns of Duru, Faradje and Doruma.

Margarida Fawke, from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, said the situation was "catastrophic".

She added: "The villages are getting burnt, the people are getting killed. We are getting reports that all the female bodies found are naked, so we assume they were raped before they were killed."

Last year, Duru was attacked by the LRA with most of the town burnt to the ground and 65 children abducted from its school.

Congo's shambolic national army has few soldiers in this remote area, leaving the people with scarcely any protection.