International Court Says Violence in Congo May Amount to War Crimes<br />By STEVE WEMBIAPRIL 1, 2017<br />KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Recent acts of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the murder of two United Nations researchers<br />and the discovery of 23 mass graves in the Kasaï region, may constitute war crimes, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Friday.<br />The statement was released on the same day that the director of the United Nations human rights office in Congo, José Maria Aranaz, said mass<br />graves had been discovered in Kasaï, where the Kamuina Nsapu militia has clashed with the Congolese Army and the police for several months.<br />" she said. that There have been reports of violence between local militias<br />and Congolese forces, the killing of many civilians and noncivilians, kidnappings and summary executions of persons, including U.N. experts on mission and their accompanying persons,<br />On Tuesday night, the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, confirmed<br />that the bodies of the two United Nation researchers — Michael Sharp, an American; and Zaida Catalan, a Swede — had been discovered in a shallow grave.<br />Seven Army officers were recently charged with war crimes after a video surfaced on social media<br />that appeared to show uniformed soldiers opening fire on a group of civilians, killing at least 13 people.<br />Bensouda said that Such acts could constitute crimes within the jurisdiction of the I.C.C.,
