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KINSHASA, July 17 (AFP) - Fighting between rival ethnic groups in eastern Zaire along the border with Rwanda has claimed nearly 2,000 lives in the past three months, sources here and travelers from the region say.
Public Works Minister Kiro Kimate said a long-standing land dispute between native Zaireans of the Nyanga and Hunde tribes and Rwandan immigrants of the Tutsi and Hutu tribes had exploded in recent months, and that such a figure was "entirely plausible."
The government of Prime Minister Faustin Birindwa has not officially reported the clashes but on July 9 sent two military officers to the two most troubled localities, Massissi and Walikale, both near the Rwanda border, to serve as mayors.
mf/dw/ma AFP AFP SEQN-0157
