DR Congo concern over London ambassador arson attack

The Congolese ambassador to the UK has told the BBC he believes opposition activists may have been behind an arson attack on his London home on Saturday.

Kikaya Bin Karubi said some groups had claimed responsibility for the attack saying they were acting in retaliation for the murder a human rights activist.

Floribert Chebeya was killed in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, last week.

But Mr Karubi said British police were still investigating the incident.

Two cars were destroyed in the attack, and the front of his house was damaged, the ambassador said.

"It's absolutely not an accident. We have had incidents where by some opposition members... have been attacking the embassy time and again," he told the BBC's Network Africa

He said he was worried for the safety of his family, who had been moved to alternative accommodation.

Earlier he told the BBC French Service: "Groups in London have claimed responsibility; they call themselves 'Les Resistants Combattants' - and said they had done it in response to the death of Floribert Chebeya.

"Are these impostors? I don't know, I am waiting for the results of the police inquiry to say who did it and why," he said.

Meanwhile, the BBC's Thomas Fessy in Kinshasa says Congolese authorities have agreed that Dutch experts can help conduct an autopsy on Mr Chebeya's body.

Mr Chebeya, head of the group Voice of the Voiceless, was found dead in his car after reportedly being due to meet the police chief.

DR Congo is struggling to recover from years of civil war and insecurity. The UN has about 20,000 peacekeepers there.