Kasai leaders in DR Congo blame government on persistent violence

Several leaders of the Kasai provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have pointed accusing fingers at the government for the persistent conflict in the province.

According to them, the government mismanaged the crisis with a purely military response to the situation.

The UN mission in the country recently condemned the disproportionate use of force by government security forces in their response to the crisis.

“The government is considering to adopt political, humanitarian solutions on the ground and military ones if weapons are not peacefully returned to achieve a lasting solution in this part of the country,” said Emmanuel Ramazani Shadari, the Interior and Security minister in the DRC.

On Saturday, the Congolese military came under fire following the release of a video that went viral on social media showing an apparent massacre of unarmed civilians.

The government however condemned the video as ‘ridiculous’..with the intention to paint a negative image of the army and authorities.

“It’s time to talk about the images circulating on social media networks and which present atrocities attributed to the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) against militiamen operating under the label of Kamwuina Nsapu,” he also said.

Hundreds have died and thousands have been displaced in central DR Congo, in battles between security forces and the militia – who are seeking to avenge the death of their leader Kamwina Nsapu.