from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
DRC Bureau
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – THE Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been urged to expand a probe into the killing of at least 57 people in the east exactly a year ago.
Government should also provide prompt and adequate compensation to victims or their families, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
Congolese security forces killed the civilians in Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province.
Most were members of a mystic religious group, the Natural Judaic and Messianic Faith Towards the Nations (Foi Naturelle Judaïque et Messianique vers les Nations), who were preparing a protest against the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
A military court in October found four soldiers, including a commanding officer, guilty of murder, but no further investigations appear to be ongoing and no victims have received compensation.
“One year on, Congolese authorities have successfully prosecuted several people for the 2023 Goma massacre, but the investigations have been severely limited, and no compensation has been paid to victims,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at HRW.
He called on the government to establish command responsibility and appropriately punishing all those responsible is crucial to preventing similar abuses in the future.
Mudge noted the victims of the Goma massacre still await accountability.
“All those responsible, regardless of rank or standing, should be prosecuted, and those harmed promptly and fairly compensated.”
Civilians have in recent months protested against the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission, arguing the forces are hapless amid the terror by armed groups.
– CAJ News