{UAH} KASESE-STYLE MASSACRE IN DRC: France calls on DRC to shed light on massacre video

France calls on DRC to shed light on massacre video

By RFI Issued on 20-02-2017 Modified 20-02-2017 to 17:06

Kananga in Kasai CentralJunior D Kannah/AFP

France has called on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to speedily investigate a video that appears to show soldiers massacring civilians in Kasai region, the scene of a rebellion since September 2016.

"We call of the Congolese authorities to shed light as quickly as possible on the unacceptable actions and identify those responsible, who should answer for the actions," French Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Romain Nadal said in a statement.

The video, which has been posted on social media, appears to show DRC soldiers in uniform fire on civilians, including three women, and finish several of them off while they lie on the ground, leaving about 20 corpses.

France "condemns the murderous violence" in Kasai, the statement says.

On Sunday the US State Department called on the DRC government to launch an inquiry into the incident.

"The weight of proof lies with the accusers," DRC government spokesperson Lambert Mende told the AFP news agency.

On Saturday the DRC government claimed the film was a "montage" but later accepted that some of its troops may have committed "excesses" in fighting the rebellion in Kamwina Nsapu, in the south of Kasai Central province.

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