Three HEKS employees killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Keystone-SDA
Three employees of the Swiss Protestant Reformed Church (Heks) have been killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They were on a humanitarian mission in the crisis region, Heks said on Thursday.
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The aid organisation has set up a task force to repatriate the victims and support the bereaved. The victims are local employees, Heks said.
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The task force is working at full speed to obtain reliable information about the background and circumstances of the attack as quickly as possible. Project work in the territory of Rutshuru in North Kivu, where the attack occurred on Wednesday, has been temporarily suspended.
Heks condemned the attack as a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Staff and management of the aid organisation were deeply shocked and expressed their condolences to the families of those killed.
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At least 2,900 dead so far
The rebel group M23 attacked Goma in the province of North Kivu at the end of January and captured it after days of fighting. According to UN figures, at least 2,900 people have been killed in the fighting in Goma.
The rebels, who experts say are supported by neighbouring Rwanda, have been active in eastern Congo for years and have now gained control of large parts of the province of North Kivu. Some of the rarest and most valuable metals in the world are mined in large quantities in this resource-rich region, including coltan, gold, nickel, cobalt and copper.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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