Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers sitting at the
back of a pick-up truck in Rutshuru. At least 80 mass graves have now
been identified in the country's troubled central region of Kasai. FILE
PHOTO | AFP
UNITED NATIONS
Another
38 probable mass graves have been discovered in DR Congo in the
country's troubled central region of Kasai, the United Nations said
Wednesday.
At least 80 mass graves
have now been identified in the region that has seen a major spike in
violence between security forces and a tribal militia since September.
The
international community has voiced alarm over the violence, which has
claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, according to statistics
compiled by the Roman Catholic church.
400 DEAD
The
UN's MONUSCO peacekeeping mission had previously spoken of "more than
400 dead" while about 1.3 million people are estimated to have fled
their homes in the Kasai provinces.
The
investigative mission this month found the latest mass graves in the
Diboko and Sumbula areas of the Kamonia territory, the UN said.
The
violence began last year when Kamwina Nsapu, a tribal chieftain in
territory near the southern border with Angola, openly challenged the
authority of President Joseph Kabila's government, provoking a crackdown
by security forces.
TRADITIONAL RITES
Nsapu
was killed in a police operation in August 2016, but his armed
followers fight on in the belief he is still alive, because he was
buried by the regime without respect for traditional rites accorded
leaders of his stature which would have opened the way to a rightful
succession.
Last February, MONUSCO
accused the Kamwina Nsapu militia of "atrocities... including the
recruiting and use of child soldiers," but also condemned "a
disproportionate use of force" by government troops.
Two
western experts sent to investigate the conflict by UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres went missing in March and their
bodies were found in a shallow grave by peacekeepers a fortnight later.
The government blamed the tribal militia for their murders.
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