Hundreds of people have been killed or raped in attacks on the Hema ethnic group in eastern DR Congo's Ituri province, in what "may amount to crimes against humanity" or even genocide, the UN said on Friday.
"At least 701 people have been killed and 168 injured during inter-ethnic tensions between the Hema and Lendu communities, in the territories of Djugu and Mahagi, from December 2017 to September 2019," the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJRHO) said.
"In addition, at least 142 people have been subjected to acts of sexual violence.
"Most of the victims are members of the Hema community."
It added: "The barbarity that characterizes these attacks -- including the beheading of women and children with machetes, the dismemberment and removal of body parts of the victims as trophies of war -- reflects the desire of the attackers to inflict lasting trauma to the Hema communities and to force them to flee and not return to their villages."
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