Rights group says Ugandan rebels continue rampage in Congo, 96 civilians killed this year

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Rights group says Ugandan rebels kill 96 in Congo

KINSHASA, Congo — A rights group says Ugandan rebels are continuing their deadly rampage through Congo, where they have killed at least 96 civilians this year.

Human Rights Watch said Friday the Lord’s Resistance Army has also abducted dozens of people in their assaults on villages in northeastern Congo.

The atrocities follow a massacre of more than 300 people in December. They call into question the ability of the U.N. peacekeeping force to protect civilians.

The rights group says 74 people died in the worst assault this year in Niangara in February. The assailants burned houses, snatched children, and shot or crushed the skulls of those unable to flee.

The U.N. has also documented the abuses near Niangara, saying the death toll was as high as 100.