UNICEF says ethnic strife kills 76 in northeast DR Congo since December
                 Source: Xinhua | 2018-02-17 20:14:27 | Editor: huaxia

File photo shows refugees of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) ready to cross over to the Republic of Congo, Dec. 5, 2011. (Xinhua/Guy Gervais Kitina)

KINSHASA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Seventy-six people have been killed during ethnic violence gripping northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since December, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

A majority of those killed in the northeastern province of Ituri were women and children, the UNICEF said.

In addition to the killings, the UN agency said more than 70 villages were set on fire during the recent violence, which forced many to flee their homes to places within the province and to surrounding areas including neighboring Uganda.

"At least three health centers and seven schools have been looted or burned, depriving children of health care and education," said the UNICEF, which estimated that following the violence, more than 100 schools have stopped classes, depriving 30,000 children of their schooling.

Inter-ethnic conflicts rose sharply last December between the Hema and Lendu, two tribes that coexist with difficulty in Ituri. Between 2001 and 2006, at least 60,000 people were killed in fighting between the two tribes.

In a recent report, the UN stressed that the situation in the DRC is one of the most complex crises in the world, and it has deteriorated due to the escalation of several local conflicts.

In early 2018, about 5 million Congolese have been forced to leave their homes, including 4.35 million within the country and 674,879 refugees arriving in other African countries.

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UNICEF says ethnic strife kills 76 in northeast DR Congo since December

Source: Xinhua 2018-02-17 20:14:27

File photo shows refugees of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) ready to cross over to the Republic of Congo, Dec. 5, 2011. (Xinhua/Guy Gervais Kitina)

KINSHASA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Seventy-six people have been killed during ethnic violence gripping northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since December, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

A majority of those killed in the northeastern province of Ituri were women and children, the UNICEF said.

In addition to the killings, the UN agency said more than 70 villages were set on fire during the recent violence, which forced many to flee their homes to places within the province and to surrounding areas including neighboring Uganda.

"At least three health centers and seven schools have been looted or burned, depriving children of health care and education," said the UNICEF, which estimated that following the violence, more than 100 schools have stopped classes, depriving 30,000 children of their schooling.

Inter-ethnic conflicts rose sharply last December between the Hema and Lendu, two tribes that coexist with difficulty in Ituri. Between 2001 and 2006, at least 60,000 people were killed in fighting between the two tribes.

In a recent report, the UN stressed that the situation in the DRC is one of the most complex crises in the world, and it has deteriorated due to the escalation of several local conflicts.

In early 2018, about 5 million Congolese have been forced to leave their homes, including 4.35 million within the country and 674,879 refugees arriving in other African countries.

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