Doubt over Congo 'massacre'

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have launched an investigation into an alleged massacre by their forces 60km (40 miles) south of Bukavu.

There are barely 50 people in Katogota. How could we kill 300?

RCD spokesman

The Congolese Rally for Democracy - the RCD - said reports of the killing of more than 300 civilians were false, and invited journalists and humanitarian agencies to conduct their own inquiries.

A senior United Nations official has dismissed the death total as "grossly inflated".

The Rome-based Catholic missionary news agency, Misna, said victims were shot, stabbed or clubbed to death in an attack on the village of Katogota a week ago.

It quoted eyewitnesses as saying the massacre lasted all night and that many bodies were then thrown into a river.

Relief officials in the region remain cautious - they have hinted at serious civilian casualties but say there has been no confirmation so far of a massacre on the scale suggested by Misna.

Probe

An RCD spokesman, Kin-Kiey Mulumba, said on Sunday that a team had been sent to investigate the massacre report.

The rebels are trying to overthrow the government of Laurent Kabila

"Today the RCD has dispatched a mission headed by our military investigator to Katogota to establish if our soldiers were responsible for any crimes that may have been committed," he said.

"There are barely 50 people in Katogota. How could we kill 300?" he added.

Correspondents say the latest reports from eastern Congo point to a military operation with rebels going in pursuit of enemy militia fighters after one of their own commanders was killed.

Charles Petrie, a senior adviser to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Congo, said up to 31 civilians may have been killed in recent clashes in the area.

He said the lower estimate was based on reports from villagers and the local Red Cross.

Catastrophe

Katogota, 60km (40 miles) south of Bukavu, lies close to the frontier with Burundi. The RCD is supposedly in charge, with its troops working in an often difficult alliance with the armies of Rwanda and Burundi.

There are frequent raids and attacks by Burundian and Rwanda Hutu insurgents, as well as the Congolese Mai Mai, a local militia force which appears to enjoy considerable popular support.

Aid agencies have talked repeatedly of a catastrophe in eastern Congo, warning that the fighting has already displaced thousands of civilians.

Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda support a rebel coalition fighting the government of President Kabila, who is backed by troops from Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia.