A/HRC/38/31 2. Kasaï Oriental Province 49. In October 2016, the Kamuina Nsapu movement spread to Kasaï Oriental. Violent acts occurred in several villages in Kabeya-Kamwanga territory until April 2017. For example, on 13 October 2016, after two members of the militia were executed by the defence and security forces in Kena Nkuna, about 100 Kamuina Nsapu militia members, most of whom were children, entered the town and burned down public buildings and similar structures. FARDC thereupon arrived and clashes took place throughout the day, leaving several dead among the militia members and the civilian population. On 15 October FARDC launched a “door-to-door” operation to search for militia members, and several civilians were executed. In the following weeks, the armed forces raped and executed civilians and systematically looted and destroyed homes. 50. Violent acts were committed in several villages in Miabi territory, in Kasaï Oriental. For example, on 18 December 2016, members of FARDC clashed with Kamuina Nsapu militiamen in the village of Mwanza Lomba. They opened fire on militiamen carrying sticks and knives, killing and wounding several people, including women and children, and then executing the wounded who had fallen. After that incident was covered by the media, eight of the nine soldiers tried for these crimes were convicted in July 2017. 3. Kasaï Province 51. The wave of violence linked to the Kamuina Nsapu movement reached the Kananga-Tshikapa road, in Kamonia territory, Kasaï province, between late November and early December 2016. As a result of a customary power struggle, a chief who was not recognized by the authorities visited Kasaï Central Province with the aim of returning with the Kamuina Nsapu jujus. In line with the usual pattern, children were recruited into the militia, and some village chiefs who refused to pledge support were beheaded. 52. The first incident in Kamonia territory took place on 28 November, when two policemen were killed by Kamuina Nsapu militiamen in the Mbawu communities. On 4 and 5 December, many militia members, including girls and boys, entered the town of Tshikapa. Clashes took place near the Kasaï bridge, in the Kele neighbourhood and around the airfield near the town centre. 53. After this attack, FARDC conducted reprisals in villages of the Mbawu communities and along the Kananga-Tshikapa road; many civilians were shot to death by the armed forces, including in the villages of Mfuamba, Mbawu and Kabeya-Lumbu. On 6 December the armed forces arrived in large numbers in the village of Tshitadi, where there were no militiamen present. They burned many houses down and opened fire on the population, killing dozens of men, women and children. C. January–July 2017: Eruption of violence throughout Kasaï and the ethnic dimension of the conflict 54. From January to July 2017, the Kamuina Nsapu movement and its militia continued to advance with the aim of reaching all provinces of Kasaï. Military reinforcements were sent and a military operations sector was established in early March 2017. Both the level of violence associated with the clashes and the number of abuses committed by the Kamuina Nsapu militia and the defence and security forces against civilians increased exponentially, peaking between January and May. Moreover, from March onwards, the conflict took on a pronounced ethnic dimension in Kamonia territory, in Kasaï Province, with the arrival of the Kamuina Nsapu militia in non-Luba-speaking areas and the emergence of the Bana Mura militias. 1. (a) Kasaï Central Province Dibaya territory 55. There has been an upsurge in violence in Dibaya territory, the home of the Kamuina Nsapu movement. On 5 January 2017, following incursions by members of the Kamuina 10 GE.18-10936