Militia fighters decapitate 40 police officers in Congo ambush

[rooster59]

Militia fighters decapitate 40 police officers in Congo ambush

By Aaron Ross

 

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Militia fighters decapitated about 40 police officers after an ambush in central Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials said on Saturday, the deadliest attack on security forces since an insurgency erupted in the region last year.

 

The Kamuina Nsapu militants struck on Friday as the police convoy drove from the city of Tshikapa in Kasai province to Kananga, the capital of Kasai-Central province, said Francois Madila Kalamba, speaker of the Kasai provincial assembly.

 

"They were apprehended by the militia members and they decapitated about 40," Kalamba told Reuters. He added that witnesses said the fighters spared the lives of six police officers because they spoke the local Tshiluba language.

 

The militia fighters, who are often armed with machetes but rarely carry firearms, made off with arms and vehicles during the raid, Kalamba added.

 

Corneil Mbombo, president of the Civil Society of Kasai, a provincial activist group, also said about 40 officers had been decapitated following the ambush. The provincial governor and national police spokesman could not be reached for comment.

 

The insurgency, which has spread to five provinces, poses the most serious threat yet to the rule of President Joseph Kabila, whose failure to step down at the end of his constitutional mandate in December was followed by a wave of killings and lawlessness across the vast central African nation.

Friday's attack follows government reports of a wave of surrenders by fighters in neighbouring Kasai-Central province in recent days. The Interior Ministry said on Saturday that 400 fighters had surrendered this week in the province.

 

But as the insurgency has spread, the fighters operating under the name Kamuina Nsapu appear to operate increasingly independently and without a clear leadership structure. Some recent violence appears to be ethnic score-settling.

 

More than 400 people have been killed in the violence, according to the United Nations, and the government said on Tuesday that 67 police officers and many soldiers had died in the clashes.

 

Many of the dead have been dumped in mass graves. The United Nations said this week that it had identified 10 alleged mass grave sites and was investigating seven others.

 

The military's top prosecutor announced last week that seven soldiers had been charged in connection with a video that appears to show soldiers massacring suspected militia members, including for murder and mutilation.

 

Two U.N. officials, one U.S. citizen and the other of Swedish nationality, and four Congolese accompanying them were also kidnapped last week by unknown assailants in Kasai-Central. They have yet to be located.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-26

[simple1]

Perhaps the most under reported conflict country in the world with millions of deaths.

[i claudius]

1 hour ago, simple1 said:

Perhaps the most under reported conflict country in the world with millions of deaths.

Perhaps we would be more interested in it if they were bombing us , killing us and causing terror all over the world , just like Muslims are . ever thought of that?

oh by the way i think what is happening there is a terrible thing as well , more savages that end up becoming "refugees"

[williamgeorgeallen]

they have oil right? america needs to sell them some democracy.

[naboo]

If they were muslims, this would have been described as a terrorist attack.

[RuamRudy]

1 hour ago, i claudius said:

Perhaps we would be more interested in it if they were bombing us , killing us and causing terror all over the world , just like Muslims are . ever thought of that?

It is good that you added the part about the Muslims, else one could have been forgiven for thinking that you were talking about the US & allies' military campaigns.

[impulse]

25 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

they have oil right? america needs to sell them some democracy.

 

Nah.  That's more likely to go to China, elsewhere in Asia, or Europe.

 

America can get all the oil we need from friendlier countries in our own hemisphere.  We import very little from Africa or the Middle East any more- though that wasn't always the case.  And what we do get from MEA could be replaced by friendlier oil if push came to shove.  

 

But what America needs, along with the rest of the world, is for that oil to be available to the market so the price doesn't skyrocket when it's not available to China and Europe and Japan and Thailand, and they start shopping for their oil where we get ours.  That's how oil prices go up and economies slam on the brakes.  And maybe even the start of the oil wars.

 

Personally, I think we ought to let them defend their own oil sources and their own shipping lanes with their own blood and treasure, but I do understand the need to keep the oil flowing and the ships from getting hijacked, even if it's not our oil.  I don't have to like it, though.

[steven100]

Just send in an army of 1000 and hunt these scum down and kill them.

 

OT;  this is simply why I don't donate 1 dime to help children of the desperate in Africa and other countries.   Why should I donate when there PM won't lift a finger to eradicate these militants and feed the starving ...  charity should begin with their own government helping out.

and any money sent never gets to the needy anyway.

[simple1]

1 hour ago, i claudius said:

Perhaps we would be more interested in it if they were bombing us , killing us and causing terror all over the world , <snip>

Reasoning for lack of media exposure covered by a number of media analysts and not attributed to your line of thinking - just underlines the hypocrisy of some in the West,

[mettech]

If there is nooil , gold, gas, or other valuable commodity  well forget about hem they could erase their nation and no one give a hoot.

[simple1]

1 hour ago, mettech said:

If there is no oil , gold, gas, or other valuable commodity  well forget about hem they could erase their nation and no one give a hoot.

Congo is resource rich.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390

[Grubster]

I think most African countries are at some type of war. Middle East too. Things look bad for the future of the world I guess. Just like the past.

[joecoolfrog]

7 hours ago, steven100 said:

Just send in an army of 1000 and hunt these scum down and kill them.

 

OT;  this is simply why I don't donate 1 dime to help children of the desperate in Africa and other countries.   Why should I donate when there PM won't lift a finger to eradicate these militants and feed the starving ...  charity should begin with their own government helping out.

and any money sent never gets to the needy anyway.

I am confident that you know next to nothing of the history of the DRC. 

[sawadeeken]

4 hours ago, simple1 said:

Congo is resource rich.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390

Thanks for this lead............ I found it very interesting reading.........

[Dave67]

2 hours ago, simple1 said:

Congo is resource rich.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24396390

Very interesting article

[7by7]

13 hours ago, i claudius said:

Perhaps we would be more interested in it if they were bombing us , killing us and causing terror all over the world , just like Muslims are . ever thought of that?

oh by the way i think what is happening there is a terrible thing as well , more savages that end up becoming "refugees"

 This has got to be one of the most despicable posts ever on TV. 

 

You don't care about the victims of a conflict that has been going, on and off, since the 1990s and has killed an estimated 5 million people and displaced nearly 2 million others.

 

Your only concern is that these victims may seek sanctuary in Europe. Which they haven't; although a very small number have been offered resettlement in some EU countries; likewise for the USA. Almost all are in neighbouring countries or still in the DRC.

 

You call these victims savages. Why? Because of the colour of their skin?

 

I'd say that you should be ashamed of yourself; but I know that you wont be.

[steven100]

8 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

I am confident that you know next to nothing of the history of the DRC. 

I am confident that I don't need to read your comment.

[Scott]

I am confident that members should stay on topic and stop bickering.  

 

Part of a discussion is learning something and expressing an opinion.   It's best if learning occurs first.  

 

Stick to the topic, please.  

[i claudius]

9 hours ago, 7by7 said:

 This has got to be one of the most despicable posts ever on TV. 

 

You don't care about the victims of a conflict that has been going, on and off, since the 1990s and has killed an estimated 5 million people and displaced nearly 2 million others.

 

Your only concern is that these victims may seek sanctuary in Europe. Which they haven't; although a very small number have been offered resettlement in some EU countries; likewise for the USA. Almost all are in neighbouring countries or still in the DRC.

 

You call these victims savages. Why? Because of the colour of their skin?

 

I'd say that you should be ashamed of yourself; but I know that you wont be.

nope not ashamed at all , live like animals die like animals , couldnt care less what colour your skin is , so stop with those sort of remarks .

[7by7]

6 hours ago, i claudius said:

nope not ashamed at all , live like animals die like animals , couldnt care less what colour your skin is , so stop with those sort of remarks .

Ah, I see.

 

In your opinion, people in the DCR live like animals and so deserve to be slaughtered.

 

In what other countries do you think the people live like animals and so deserve this fate?

[boomerangutang]

Most of east central Africa is hellish.  Mass rapes (all attractive women in entire villages) are not uncommon.  Murder is common.  And yes, it's one of the most under-reported regions of the world.

[metisdead]

An off topic rant about illegals in the USA has been removed.