Over 100 people were killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of clashes between military forces and local militia, a spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Tuesday.
“There are troubling reports that soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo killed at least 101 people during clashes with members of a local militia between February 9 and [February] 13,” Liz Throssell said at a press briefing.
The latest violence erupted near the town of Tshimbulu in Kasai Central Province when the soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) opened fire at random with machine guns at militia fighters, armed with machetes and spears, the spokeswoman said, citing the information from different sources obtained by the OHCHR.
“We are deeply concerned at the reported high number of deaths, which if confirmed would suggest excessive and disproportionate use of force by the soldiers,” Throssell stressed.
Throssell called for a full and objective investigation into the clashes and human right violations, as well as for increasing attempts to settle the conflicts with customary chiefs in Kasai Central Province.