UN: Mass grave found in DRC
2006-11-24 11:10
Kinshasa - The United Nations investigators have found a mass grave in an army camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri district holding about 30 bodies, including women and children, who appeared to have been executed, says a spokesperson.
Kemal Saiki of the UN mission in the DRC said: "Our human rights division followed up on information it received and has confirmed a mass grave of about 30 people."
Saiki said: "Apparently these people were executed, among them are women and children. The mass grave was found in an army camp in a place called Bavi in Ituri.
"There are witnesses who directly accuse the First Brigade, which is based there, of being responsible."
Human rights violations
The First Brigade was one of several Congolese army brigades made up of fighters from a plethora of rebel and government factions who fought in the DRC's 1998-2003 war.
The army had frequently been accused of human rights violations across the DRC's east, where violence had continued despite a peace deal three years ago to end the war, which triggered a humanitarian disaster that had pushed the death toll to about four million.
Saiki said: "The military prosecutor is carrying out investigations and two soldiers have been arrested."
The DRC had held its first democratic elections in more than 40 years, culminating in a presidential run-off vote on October 29.
But violence, hunger and disease still killed an estimated 1 200 Congolese everyday, and tensions were running high in the capital, Kinshasa, where former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba was contesting provisional poll results showing a victory for President Joseph Kabila.