51 Civilians Found Dead, Rebels Say

Congolese rebels said they had discovered the bodies of 51 civilians who appeared to have been shot at close range by government troops retreating from Dongo, a town on the Ubangui River near Congo’s border with the Central African Republic. Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Ugandan-backed Congolese Liberation Movement, which is fighting to oust President Laurent Kabila, said the 47 men and four women were killed Sept. 8 in Dongo, about 435 miles northeast of the capital, Kinshasa. Bemba said the bodies were found when the rebels took Dongo on Sept. 9. He said two survivors had told of the killings.