Congo army attacked measles vaccine sites: aid agency

By Joe Bavier

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congolese soldiers involved in a U.N.-backed offensive against Rwandan rebels attacked villages where thousands of civilians had gathered to receive measles jabs, a humanitarian agency said on Friday.

The allegation by French medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) adds to growing criticism of U.N. support for an operation aimed at improving ties between ex-foes Congo and Rwanda but which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians.

"Thousands of people, and the MSF teams, were trapped in the gunfire. The attack was an unacceptable abuse of humanitarian action to fulfil military objectives," Luis Encinas, head of the agency's programmes in Central Africa, said in a statement.

"We feel we were used as bait," he added of an October 17 army offensive which simultaneously targeted all seven vaccination sites in the Masisi territory of eastern Congo, at the time under rebel control.

The agency said it had decided to pull out its staff from the area before publishing any details of the incident three weeks ago. It added it could not be sure whether there were any casualties because it had suspended its activities there.

The group said it had received guarantees from warring factions that the vaccination programme could go forward, but an army spokesman questioned whether MSF had contacted the operation's headquarters in the regional capital Goma.

"As they (the soldiers) didn't receive any orders from Goma, they did not desist. It's completely normal. We are in operations," said the spokesman.

A military spokesman for the Congo's U.N. mission MONUC, said it was unaware of the incident.