Congolese Militia Beheads Dozens of Police Officers
Amid the mounting accusations of violence against civilians,
and the discovery of 10 mass graves dug in January and February in Kasai-Central, the chief of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo urged the United Nations Security Council this week to press the government to open an investigation into possible human rights violations.
By STEVE WEMBIMARCH 25, 2017
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Members of a militia ambushed
and then beheaded about 40 police officers on Friday in a central province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said on Saturday.
Last week, the Congolese military’s auditor general announced
that seven officers had been arrested and charged with war crimes after a video surfaced last month depicting soldiers shooting a group of civilians in Kasai-Central Province, a massacre that left at least 13 dead.
Justin Milongo, the deputy governor of Kasai-Central Province, said on Saturday
that 400 Kamuina Nsapu militia fighters had "laid down their arms" in Kananga and were being detained.
This month, two United Nations officials — an American
and a Swede — were among six people abducted in the Kasai-Central Province by unknown assailants.
François Kalamba, the speaker of the Kasai provincial assembly, confirmed on Saturday
that the convoy had been ambushed by Kamuina Nsapu fighters between the city of Tshikapa and Kananga, and that about 40 officers had been decapitated.