Mass graves reported in Kinshasa

Meanwhile, ethnic Tutsi civilians in government-held territory remained vulnerable to execution or other human rights abuses, particularly if the war were not to go well for the government, HRW said in its report. Incitement to violence and calls by the government to kill “the enemy” at the start of the conflict had resulted in the slaughter of a large number of Tutsis, the report said.

There were probably “several hundred” civilians, predominantly Tutsi, killed in Kinshasa alone, while dozens of people arrested and detained at the Kokolo military camp in the capital were reported to have been killed by Congolese military, the report said. Mass graves were reported at the Kokolo camp and other locations in Kinshasa, it said.

“Future incitement from members of the government or the public could ignite existing anti-Tutsi sentiment into further killings by civilians or military,” the report warned. Between 1,000 and 2,000 Tutsis are estimated to be detained in the DRC, UN human rights rapporteur Roberto Garreton said last week.