Ethnic violence in Kasai region of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Today, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that a militia linked to DRC’s government has committed a series of ethnically-motivated attacks in recent months in Kasai, including mutilating children and stabbing pregnant women. The Catholic Church reports that fighting between the Congolese security forces and a militia has killed at least 3,383 people in the central Kasai region since October 2016. The UN will decide this week whether to open an independent investigation into the violence in the Kasai region.

Advice

Political tensions in DRC are already high since the incumbent president’s term was due to end December 2016. The Catholic Church negotiated a deal between pro- and anti-government factions to keep the president in office until elections in late 2017.