20 people are dead in the Congo after Pygmies and Bantu ethnic groups clashed over a new caterpillar collection tax.
Caterpillars are a food staple of the hunter-gatherer people. A local official said the civil war was cause by a disagreement over the harvest of the insects.
“The attacks since Sunday left four (Bantu) Lubas and 16 Pygmies dead in a row over the tax traditionally paid to the Bantus by the Pygmies,” said local official Kalunga Mawazo.
A priest (who asked not to be identified) said that “the Pygmies believe they now have the same rights as citizens as the others. They refused to pay this illegal tax and shot two Luba people dead with arrows when they demanded payment.”