Congo Admits Possibility of Slain Refugees

Backing down from earlier assertions that it had nothing to do with alleged massacres of Rwandan refugees, Congo’s government now acknowledges that some may have been killed in cross-fire during the recent civil war.

President Laurent Kabila’s government is hoping that the admission, while far from an acknowledgment that his forces committed atrocities, is enough to secure aid for his ravaged land during a visit today by envoy Bill Richardson, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Until now, Kabila’s officials had dismissed as “absurd” allegations that refugees were killed in the former Zaire, and have accused humanitarian agencies of being biased.

Interior Minister Mwenze Kongolo backed off that stance Wednesday.

“At various times we fought against armed refugees, that is not a secret,” he said. “We imagine that in a war there will be people killed who are not armed combatants.”