UN experts due in DR Congo to investigate killings

By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo

UN experts will be sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo to investigate violence in which hundreds of people have reportedly been killed, Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday.

It said that the UN Human Rights Council had passed a resolution requesting that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights send a team of international experts to investigate alleged human rights violations and abuses in the central Kasai region.

The Congolese government has reportedly agreed to cooperate, including by facilitating access.

“The Human Rights Council-mandated international investigation brings hope of uncovering the truth about the horrific violence in the Kasai region since August, a step toward justice for thousands of victims,” said Laila Matar, UN advocate at Human Rights Watch.

Among what is to be investigated is a video posted this February showing men in Congolese army uniforms fatally shooting at least 13 alleged militia members, some of them carrying sticks and slingshots.

Chaos in Kasai started last August when Kamuina Nsapu, the leader of a militia group also called Kamuina Nsapu, was killed by police. Since then the militiamen have been attacking police, the army, and civilians, killing indiscriminately.

The Catholic Church in the DRC recently said in a report that over 3,300 people have been killed and more than 1.3 million displaced.