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Human Rights Watch authenticated two videos showing Congolese soldiers from an elite unit throwing bodies onto the back of a truck. There are credible reports that most of the bodies were being kept in a morgue at a military hospital, to which the deceased’s family members are not allowed access. In addition to the casualties among the demonstrators, one police officer was stoned to death, according to the security forces.
“Congolese military forces appear to have fired into a crowd to prevent a demonstration, an extremely callous as well as unlawful way to enforce a ban,” said Thomas Fessy, senior Congo researcher at Human Rights Watch. “For two years, the military authorities have used the ‘state of siege’ – martial law – in North Kivu province to brutally crack down on fundamental liberties.”
The authorities should immediately grant family members access to the victims, Human Rights Watch said. Senior military officials who ordered the use of unlawful lethal force should be suspended, investigated, and held accountable in fair and public trials.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
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