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Yumbi ‘a ghost city’ following DR Congo inter-communal violence

Yumbi ‘a ghost city’ following DR Congo inter-communal violence

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Yumbi in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, resembles a “ghost city” in the aftermath of a days-long massacre last month which left at least 535 victims, discovered by UN investigators in communal burial sites.

That’s according to Florence Marchal, spokesperson for the UN Mission in the country, MONUSCO.

In an interview with UN News on Wednesday, she described how the brutal inter-ethnic killings were carried out “in a very organized manner” with many houses and public buildings also destroyed during the violence between Banunu and Batende community members, that was sparked by a dispute over a local chief’s burial.

She told Pascal Sim, that although the area is now calm, conditions remain tense, and much of the local population has fled across the Congo River, into neighbouring Republic of the Congo.

Audio Credit
Pascal Sim, UN News - French
Audio
6'25"
Photo Credit
© UNHCR/Ley Uwera