In a statement issued on 24 February, Human Rights Watch, the NGO for the defense of human rights, calls on the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to investigate fully and impartially the murder committed in Kasaï-Central by alleged perpetrators Elements of the Congolese Armed Forces. This HRW statement comes after videos of the massacres disseminated on social networks, which reportedly occurred on the road to Ntenda, in the border area between the provinces of Kasaï-Oriental and Kasaï-Central.
Human Rights Watch said in its statement that the shootings seen on the videos shot in Tshimbulu, Central Kasai, would have resulted from an abusive use of lethal force in a law enforcement situation. Ida Sawyer, Director for Central Africa at Human Rights Watch, calls for international mobilization at the highest levels to help protect civilians from further violence of this kind in the entire territory of the DRC.
« In recent years, this central region of the DRC was largely peaceful. It is the region of origin and the main stronghold of the opposition party Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). Violence is linked to customary control over local chieftains, but there are also clear links with national political dynamics, with the Congolese army supporting the leadership of individuals considered loyal to President Joseph Kabila and his political coalition, while The militias support individuals considered to be closer to the opposition, » the statement said.
Human Rights Watch also reports that the UN Human Rights Council will discuss the human rights situation in DR Congo at its next session (end of February).
« Given the scale of the violence in the Kasai and other parts of the DRC and the possibility of further deterioration of the human rights situation, the Human Rights Council should appoint an independent expert (or team ) Able to deploy rapidly to monitor and report on the situation in DR Congo « .