MONUC says 1,200 people killed by LRA in DR Congo since September 2008

KINSHASA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan rebel group, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 1,400 others in the Democratic Republic of Congo between September 2008 and June 2009, the UN mission in the central African country reported on Monday.

The MONUC mission said the LRA committed the crime mainly in Orientale province, where they abducted 600 children and 400 women.

The MONUC report was based on 14 UN investigations into the alleged human rights violation by the LRA in the districts of Haut Uele and Bas Congo in the province. The LRA actions also led to the displacement of about 230,000 people.

MONUC appealed to DR Congo and neighboring Uganda and Sudan to enhance cooperation in fighting the wandering bandits of the LRA.

Chased from Uganda in 2002 and southern Sudan in 2005, the LRA is taking refuge in the Garamba National Park in DR Congo. They are held responsible for killing, kidnapping and looting in the region.

Editor: Li Xianzhi