U.N. vs Massacres in Congo

By Irene Suvillaga

“The United Nations team reported a series of gruesome, specific crimes: attackers tossed a 2-year-old into a septic tank, raped a woman after decapitating a 3-year-old child; and mutilated many victims, including pregnant women.”

Last year around December, attacks took place near Yumbi, a town located in western Congo. United Nations investigators claimed that hundreds of men, women, and children were dreadfully slaughtered and forced to leave their homes due to an attack by the Batende ethnic group. The assaults are argued to have been crimes against humanity.

These attacks are said to have been triggered by a dispute over the burial of the Banunu community’s chief. UN investigators arrived in January and interviewed around 90 people. They resolved that around 19,000 people fled the violence.

Ms. Shamdasani told the reporters that villagers of the Batende ethnic group were armed with hunting rifles, machetes, gasoline, bows and arrows, killing at least 535 villagers of the Banunu community. However, the death toll was alarmingly higher, she added, as the United Nations had earlier reported that around 900 people were murdered. Attackers also destroyed 14 churches, 17 schools and several health centers. Many were killed during their attempted escape, women and girls were also burned inside their houses while trying to seek shelter from the violence.

The actions may amount to several crimes against humanity including murder, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual assault.

Investigators said that the lack of response from authorities to clear the rise of tension between the communities was an influential factor in the occurrence of such events. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations chief stated “It is crucial to ensure that the perpetrators of these terrible crimes are punished.”