The Bloodiest War

Battles for Food: Jean's Story
Displaced civilians in North Kivu often face the bleak choice of dying of hunger in the camps or risking their lives by returning to their farms in search of food. After fleeing heavy fighting with his wife and seven children in August, Jean decided to go back to their farm to look for food. Soon after he crossed into the area controlled by the rebels, he was stopped by eight CNDP soldiers armed with rifles, machetes, and spears. They brought Jean to a nearby house and locked him inside with 11 others.

"One of the soldiers said he was going to exterminate us all. He then turned to me and put his machete against my ear. He cut at my ear, slowly, slowly, back and forth. He said he would cut me, part by part, until I die. The other prisoners started to cry out, and the soldier left me to hit them on their heads with the back of his machete. He then came back to me and started to cut at the back of my neck. When the others cried out even louder, the soldier brought me and another prisoner outside. They forced the other man to lie naked on the ground while they beat him with wooden sticks and sliced his buttocks with a machete. Eventually one soldier convinced the others to let us go. I ran through the forest, with blood streaming from my neck and ear, until I reached a health center. They do this kind of thing everyday against people who have fled and try to go back to their farms. But we have to go back because we're hungry."

Forced to the Front Lines: Anthony's Story
All parties to the conflict in North Kivu have forcibly recruited civilians to serve as soldiers. Forced recruitment has increased in the last two months as parties, particularly the rebel groups, try to make up for combatants killed in battle. Afraid of being forcibly recruited, many young men and boys flee their homes and spend the night sleeping outside in the bush or near U.N. bases. Anthony was one of an estimated 50 children forcibly recruited in mid-September, just outside a displaced persons camp.

"Five CNDP soldiers stopped me on the road in the middle of the day. They sent me with a large group of other men and boys--some as young as 12, others as old as 40--to Murambi where they said we would transport boxes of ammunition for the rebel soldiers. They beat us badly so we couldn't resist. When we got to Murambi, they didn't order us to transport boxes, but instead gave us military uniforms and taught us how to use weapons. Then after three days, they put us all in an underground prison. We stayed there for four days, and new recruits joined us everyday. On the fourth day, they called us out of the prison and took us to Karuba. That night, I managed to escape with two other recruits, and we ran all the way back to Ngungu. The others who remained behind were sent to Kitchanga for military training. I want to go back to our home in Numbi, but I'm scared. If the CNDP soldiers find me there, they will kill me."

Ghosts of Rwanda: Gerald's Story
At least 40 persons, including 12 children, have been arbitrarily arrested since combat resumed in North Kivu in late August, accused of sympathizing with the Tutsi-led rebels. Officials have made anti-Tutsi statements on the radio, on television, and in public meetings, popularizing animosity toward Tutsis. On Oct. 20, three Rwandan Tutsi teenagers, students at a school in Goma, fell victim to a hostile crowd.

"We were looking for used shoes to buy in the market but the people there accused us of being spies for [Tutsi-rebel leader Laurent Nkunda]. Then the police arrived, and they paraded us through the streets, while the crowds shouted at us: 'You Tutsis are a bad people. You are the flies that we must always crush.' When we arrived at the police station, the policemen there beat us with rubber strips from tires. They made us take our pants off to see if we were circumcised. They pulled at our noses and penises, saying we had elongated penises because we're Tutsi. All night long, the policemen beat us, still accusing us of being spies. In the morning, we were eventually released after our families each paid $50. We want to go back to school in Goma because we can't afford the school fees in Rwanda, [but we] will be killed in Goma."

For more information on the conflict, visit the Human Rights Watch site, "Congo: The World's Deadliest War," which contains its reports, backgrounders, and multimedia features on the war. In addition, check out " Condition: Critical ," a multimedia presentation put together by Doctors Without Borders, a not-for-profit relief group delivering humanitarian aid in North Kivu.

© 2008