By RFIPosted on 16-12-2019Changed on 16-12-2019 at 00:00
A year ago today, hundreds of Congolese were massacred in Yumbi, in the Mai-Ndombe province, in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on the eve of the general elections.
On December 16, 17 and 18, 2018, according to the UN, premeditated and planned attacks left at least 535 dead and 111 injured in the agglomerations of Yumbi, but also of Bongende and Nkolo II, in the province of Mai-Ndombe, in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Eva lost her husband and three of her children in this violence. She still remembers that evening. " We were fleeing the violence, me and my children ," she says. They shot at us. Three children died. Afterwards, I spent three days in the bush with my other children ”.
Crimes against humanity?
Today, Eva and her five other children live in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, in precarious conditions. Like her, thousands of other displaced people have still not returned to the disaster areas and are in neighboring villages. Nearly 20,000 people have been displaced, including 16,000 who have taken refuge in neighboring Congo-Brazzaville, where they live in difficult conditions.
" What we are asking for is the opening of a trial ," explains Etibako Edi Ndito, a former deputy from the region. In the meantime, there are refugees in Congo-Brazzaville. Since August, the state hasn't sent anything . ”
The auditor general of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) reacted very quickly, but a year later, victims and civil society are still waiting for justice to be done. This is also the wish of the National Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO).
" The nation is not yet fixed on those responsible for these massacres ," deplored Father Donatien Nshole, secretary general of the episcopal organization. Where are we at in terms of justice ? It's worrying. It's sad ”.
The report of the "Yumbi commission" led by Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, then Congolese Minister for Human Rights, mentioned in particular the involvement of the politico-administrative authorities of the province. And the UN spoke of acts that could constitute crimes against humanity.
► (Re) listen: DRC: Yumbi, a premeditated massacre
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