Congo: Update to COG25591.F of 18 November 1996 on the situation of people of Lari tribe, and their treatment by the government
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 18 August 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | COG32482.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Congo: Update to COG25591.F of 18 November 1996 on the situation of people of Lari tribe, and their treatment by the government, 18 August 1999, COG32482.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad2140.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Actual and specific information on the treatment of members of Lari tribe by the current government could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Please see COG31203.F of 11 February 1999 for the geographic location of the Lari tribe, COG32506.E and COG31105.FE respectively of 12 August 1999 and 29 January 1999 for the attitude of the current government toward southerners in general and to "real or supposed" members of the exiled leader's political parties or their family members.
A 4 February 1999 La Référence Plus article states that the Congolese army (majority from Mbochi, the President's ethnic group) "proceeded 'to clean out' the districts of Bacongo and Makelele at the expense of persons belonging to the Larie and Bakongo ethnic group." The same source adds that "many young people were killed for the simple reason that they were in districts inhabited by the Larie and Bakongo ethnic group" (ibid.).
According to Country Reports 1998:
There were numerous reports that Cobras or other government forces summarily executed young male civilians during and after the December 16-20 fighting in the Bacongo and Makelekele neighbourhoods of Brazzaville, inhabited chiefly by southerners, and that government forces singled out for such killings young men from Lari ethnic group of former [exiled] prime minister Bernard Kolelas ( 1999, 101).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998. 1999. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
La Référence Plus [Kinshasa, in French]. 4 February 1999. "Lari, Bakongo Ethnic Groups Said Targeted in Massacres." (BBC Summary 8 Feb. 1999/NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential [London]. 1998- July 1999.
Amnesty International Online site.
L'Autre Afrique [Paris]. 1998- August 1999.
HRW Website.
Jeune Afrique [Paris]. 1998- August 1999.
La Lettre hebdomadaire de la FIDH [Paris]. 1998- June 1999.
Minorities at Risk Project Web site.
Observatoire congolais des droits de l'homme (OCDH) Web site.
Resource Centre country file. Congo. 1998 to present.
Electronic Sources: IRB Database, LEXIS/NEXIS, World News Connection (WNC), Internet Searches.
