Several dramas have happened in Congo in a matter of hours. In the capital Kinshasa, a cable from a power pylon broke and 26 people were electrocuted. In the eastern province of Ituri, a militia attacked a displaced persons camp with stabbing weapons. At least 40 people were killed there.
During a heavy rain shower in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, a high-voltage cable broke off its mast this morning. The cable fell hundreds of meters into homes and the local market of Matadi-Kibali, in the working-class neighborhood of Mont Ngafula, in the southwest of the city. Anyone under the cable was immediately electrocuted. Among the victims are 24 women who were selling their goods in the market and 2 men.
These images show the chaos in Kinshasa, people drumming at the accident site and gathering around the victims:
Roads like canyons
The accident is no surprise. According to urban planner Fiston Ilanga, construction should never have taken place under that high-voltage pylon. He said the accident was the result of mismanagement. "How is it possible that people can build under high-voltage pylons, and that in the city where all the institutions of the country are housed. Impermissible!"
Kinshasa's urban development has been a major problem for many years. The city plans date from before independence in 1960, but Kinshasa is bursting at the seams due to overpopulation. There were already major problems in the hilly district of Mont Ngafula. Several roads have been turned into ravines due to erosion during heavy showers.
Massacre in Ituri
It was also a dramatic day elsewhere in Congo. In the province of Ituri, in the far northeast, at least 40, according to aid organizations 60 civilians have been killed by the Codeco militia. That happened in a displaced persons camp near Djugu. The attackers finished their victims with machetes and stabbing weapons.
Codeco is a militia of the Lendu population, who target the Hemas. Martial law has been in place in Ituri and neighboring North Kivu province since May last year. But the Congolese army seems unable to control the situation despite the presence of UN peacekeepers from Bangladesh. More than 120 people were killed in November and December alone.
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