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On the night of April 17, 2009, Rwandan Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) attacked Luofu and Kasiki villages in the southern Lubero territory of North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least seven civilians, including five young children who burned to death in their homes. At least seven other civilians were injured and 300 houses were burned to the ground. The following photos and eyewitness accounts were gathered by Human Rights Watch researchers who were in Luofo village the day after the attacks. Congolese army soldiers positioned in both Luofu and Kasiki reportedly put up little or no resistance and fled, along with the local residents and thousands of displaced persons who had sought refugee in the two villages from previous waves of violence in the past two months. The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUC, had a temporary operating base in Luofu but it was removed on April 12. On the night of the attack, a MONUC patrol arrived in Luofo two hours after the attack from its nearest base in Kanyabayonga, 22 kilometers south-east, after the FDLR had already fled. No MONUC patrol made it to Kasiki, where at least 45 houses were burned to the ground and one man was shot to death by the FDLR. The FDLR had sent a warning earlier on April 17 that Luofu would be attacked. No precautionary measures were taken by government soldiers or MONUC to protect civilians in case the threat was carried out. While fleeing Luofo, many residents heard further threats from the FDLR that the towns of Kayna and Kirumba, seven kilometers east of Luofo, would be next. The FDLR attacks on Luofo and Kasiki appeared to be deliberate reprisals against the population. A few days earlier, the Congolese army and MONUC launched Operation Kimia II, a joint military operation to defeat the FDLR rebels. Similar reprisal killings have been documented by Human Rights Watch in other areas of North Kivu. As operations against the FDLR move forward, MONUC and the Congolese army should take urgent measures to ensure that all key population centers close to the frontline, including those harboring large numbers of displaced people such as Kirumba and Kayna, are protected from reprisal attacks by FDLR forces.