Thirteen dead in stampede caused by drunken soldier in DRC

Thirteen people died in a stampede on Saturday after a drunken soldier fired shots in Beni in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The gunshots created panic and some of the deceased drowned while others died by accident.

“It started when a drunken soldier in civilian clothes fired four shots that created panic leading to the drowning of 8 people, 4 died by accident and the last person died from hypertension,” the Mayor of Beni Jean Edmond Nyonyi confirmed.

“Those who drowned jumped into the river to escape the gunshots,” he added saying that the panic was not linked to the presence of assailants. Since October 2014, the city of Beni has been attacked by suspected Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels claiming the lives of more than 700 people.