Congo Rebels Execute Human-Rights Worker in Katanga Province (Bloomberg) -- Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s copper-rich Katanga province murdered a human-rights investigator who criticized their movement for committing abuses against civilians, the United Nations mission in Congo said. Armed men from the secessionist Kata Katanga group forced their way into the victim’s house on Aug. 7 in Pweto territory in eastern Katanga before killing him, Scott Campbell, the director of the UN’s joint human-rights office in Congo, said by e-mail yesterday. The UN wouldn’t release the victim’s name or organization for security reasons, he said. “In the province of Katanga, where we are witnessing a resurgence of violence against civilians as a result both of attacks by Bakata Katanga and the lack of protection offered by the army, those who do speak out are particularly exposed,” Campbell said. The Kata Katanga group is one of several rebel movements fighting against the national army in central Katanga. Its name means “cut out Katanga” in the Swahili language, while Bakata Katanga means “the people who cut out Katanga.” Almost 370,000 people have fled their homes in the province as of July, mainly because of the violence, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The UN mission in Congo said it was “gravely concerned by the arbitrary execution” of the activist and called on Congolese authorities to protect human-rights defenders and their families, in a separate e-mailed statement yesterday. In March, about 250 Kata Katanga militants fought government soldiers and police in the provincial capital, Lubumbashi, before surrendering to the UN. At least 15 people died in the fighting, according to the government. The UN put the death toll at about 35. Congo was the world’s eighth-largest producer of copper last year, almost all of which came from Katanga
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 12:55:17 +0000
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