Remains of 2,000 Said to Be Found in Bukavu

The national television station RTNC is reporting that more than 2,000 human skeletons were discovered last Sunday (11/23) in a residential neighborhood in Pajeco in the commune of Ibanda, in Bukavu. The RTNC says the parcel where the remains were found once belonged to Azarias Ruberwa, leader of the RCD, and that the remains date to the period during which the RCD occupied Bukavu.

But doubts surfaced quickly about the report. The prosecutor general of Bukavu said that it was not clear whether the bones belonged to humans or animals, and that much more work was required to sort out the details. The RCD suggested skepticism was in order. Hubert Efole, its spokesperson, noted how difficult it would be to bury 2,000 people in a big city like Bukavu without anyone knowing about it, and suggested the site could be an old cemetery.