01 June 2017•Update: 02 June 2017
By Godfrey Olukya
ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo
An international human rights group Thursday demanded an independent investigation into violence in the country’s central Kasai region.
The region has been hit by deadly clashes between anti-government Kamuina Nsapu militiamen and security forces after police killed a leader of the militiamen in August 2016.
Since then, hundreds of people have been killed and more than one million people displaced as a result of the large-scale violence.
In a statement, Ida Sawyer, the Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said the authorities in DRC have failed to stop the killings and displacement of civilians.
It said Congolese army soldiers have used excessive force in violation of international law, killing scores of suspected militiamen and sympathizers -- including large numbers of women and children.
The statement urged United Nations Human Rights Council to hold an inquiry into the situation in Kasai region.
Members of the group, armed largely with sticks and other crude weapons, have recruited children and carried out targeted attacks on the government, killing police officers, soldiers, and local officials.
Two members of the UN Group of Experts on Congo were killed in March 2017 while investigating widespread human rights abuses in the region.
UN investigators have confirmed the existence of at least 42 mass graves in the greater Kasai region since August 2016.
Yesterday, DRC's president Joseph Kabila traveled to Kasai to discuss with all those he thinks can help in bringing back peace in that area.
The outcome of the discussions has not yet been made public.
