Rebels kill 17 civilians in DR Congo: UN

Two separate rebel attacks in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the weekend killed 17 civilians, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

The armed group Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO) also opened fire on UN peacekeepers and Congolese defense forces on joint patrols to protect civilians around Ituri province's Djugu territory, where the CODECO rebel attacks occurred, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The peacekeepers and the military returned fire, and the CODECO members fled.

Dujarric said peacekeepers from the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, responded to persistent insecurity caused by CODECO in the area of Drodro and Roe, southeast of Djugu.

"The UN mission facilitated the transport of 28 civilians, mostly women, from Drodro to the Roe site for internally displaced people," he said. "The mission also temporarily sheltered civilians at its base in Drodro, following an attack perpetrated by CODECO near a church. They also evacuated a man injured during the attack."

The spokesman said the UN Security Council is to discuss the DRC situation Wednesday.