Peace accord used as “pretext” for massacres, government says

Meanwhile, the DRC government on Thursday said it could not accept that the Lusaka accord “serves as a pretext” for the repeated massacre of Congolese civilians, state television in Kinshasa reported. “How can there be an inter-Congolese dialogue with the perpetrators of massacres,” Information Minister Didier Mumengi said. “What is urgent today is to give security to the Congolese people in occupied territory and prevent other massacres that can only intensify hate and compromise peace,” he said. Mumengi called for an international commission of inquiry to identify those responsible for the massacres. A spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Thursday that an OHCHR official had travelled to South Kivu to conduct a preliminary investigation into allegations that some 300 civilians were massacred in the village of Katogota on 14-15 May.