A/HRC/38/31
Nsapu militia in Tshimbulu, which had resulted in the destruction of the police station and
the death of a policeman, FARDC soldiers arrived to confront them. More than 20 members
of the militia, most of whom were children armed with sticks, were killed by firearms and
rocket launchers; some militia members were killed while lying on the ground. Local
residents were also injured or killed by projectiles. At least three other clashes took place in
Tshimbulu, including on 10 February, when at least 100 people were killed. The FARDC
soldiers raped women and girls, looted property and burned down houses.
56.
Similar incidents took place in a large number of villages in the territory, including
Bukonde, Dibaya, Kabeya-Madi, Bena Kalegna, Muan Mukaya, Kazadi, Kaulu, Lumbudi,
Lubondaye and Lubi. Rape, often gang rape, looting, destruction of property and homes and
summary executions committed by FARDC were documented there. For the first time, the
Kamuina Nsapu militia attacked the civilian population of this territory.
57.
Two members of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo
established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1533 (2004), Zaida Catalán, a dual
Swedish and Chilean citizen, and Michael Sharp, a United States citizen, were killed near
the village of Bukonde on 12 March. Ms. Catalán’s body was decapitated. Their four
companions from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are still missing. Judicial
proceedings are ongoing.
(b)
Town of Kananga
58.
In the town of Kananga, several tshiotas were erected by the Kamuina Nsapu militia,
of which at least three were located in the commune of Nganza. Many children, both boys
and girls, were recruited in the first few months of 2017. Multiple clashes took place in the
town between the militia and the defence and security forces between January and April,
resulting in the death of several hundred people.
59.
On the night of 14 March, FARDC launched a planned attack on three tshiotas in the
commune of Nganza where hundreds of Kamuina Nsapu militia members, mostly children
aged 8 and over, were sleeping. The FARDC soldiers used firearms and rocket launchers,
causing many casualties among the militia members. They also killed injured children,
sometimes with knives. The bodies were stacked onto trucks and taken away by the
soldiers.
60.
Between 28 and 30 March, FARDC launched “door-to-door” operations in the
commune of Nganza, during which many civilians, men, women and children, were
wounded or killed indiscriminately. Young children were slaughtered in their sleep. Some
bodies were taken away by FARDC, while others were buried in several mass graves by
soldiers or local residents.
(c)
Kazumba territory
61.
A number of isolated incidents were documented in Kazumba territory: on 10 and 11
March 2017, members of the Kamuina Nsapu militia attacked Notre-Dame du Kasaï
Cathedral, located on Malandji Hill, stripping and beating several of the clergy and cutting
off the parish carpenter’s right hand. On 30 April, the militia executed six members of a
delegation of national school inspectors, near Kafumba. On 7 May, FARDC executed at
least 79 people, including 19 children, and raped 4 women at the Tshikulu village market.
(d)
Luiza territory
62.
All parts of Luiza territory were the scene of acts of violence between late January
and July 2017. The Kamuina Nsapu militia arrived in the territory in late January from
Dibaya territory. The militia was under the command of a Kamuina Nsapu chief and an
associate, both of whom were from Dibaya. The chief set up several tshiotas, including two
large ones in the villages of Kitoko and Yangala, and travelled to the various villages in the
territory to convince the village chiefs to join the movement or to force them to do so.
Those who refused were beheaded. In the villages where they were met with hostility, the
militia members retaliated against the inhabitants by looting and burning down their homes.
Several hundred girls and boys were recruited into the militia, including in the villages of
GE.18-10936
11
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