Sweden ready to help probe Congo deaths of UN workers found in shallow grave

Sweden is willing to help investigate the deaths of three people, including Swedish and American UN investigators, in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Zaida Catalan

Zaida Catalan Source: Instagram

Sweden's prime minister has paid tribute to a United Nations worker who died in Democratic Republic of Congo, saying those responsible must be brought to justice.

The remains of two UN investigators, Swedish national Zaida Catalan and US citizen Michael Sharp, and their Congolese interpreter - who went missing in March in an area engulfed in a violent uprising - were found on Monday, Congo's government said.

"Zaida Catalan worked tirelessly for peace and justice, and risked her own life to save others," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in a statement on Wednesday, adding the country was prepared to assist in the investigation.

"Sweden is naturally ready to assist in this work," he said.

The investigators were part of a group monitoring a sanctions regime imposed on Congo by the UN Security Council when they disappeared in Kasai Central province.

In a statement issued in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres confirmed that the remains of the two investigators missing since March 12 had been found in Congo and said the world body would conduct an inquiry.
Villagers found the bodies of two Caucasians and one Congolese not far from where the experts group vanished, according to the government.

Police informed the authorities in the capital Kinshasa on Monday and a team including the provincial police commissioner was sent to the scene to identify the bodies.

"It's now a certainty. It is the two investigators. We identified the third body in the grave with them as their Congolese interpreter," Communications Minister Lambert Mende told Reuters.

John Sharp, the father of Michael, posted on his Facebook page that the bodies of two Caucasians had been found in a shallow grave, saying that there was a "high probability" that it was the UN officials.

"This is a message I hoped never to write," he wrote, adding that DNA tests and dental records would be used to confirm the identities of the bodies.

Guterres said the United Nations would cooperate with Congolese authorities in searching for the four Congolese nationals who accompanied the UN officials.

"In case of criminal acts, the United Nations will do everything possible to ensure that justice is done," the UN chief said.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said it would not comment on the incident as it was being handled by the United Nations.

Congo's Kasai Central region is the epicenter of the Kamuina Nsapu insurgency that has now spread to five provinces in the loosely governed Central African country.

The Kinshasa government said earlier this month the two UN officials had fallen into the hands of unidentified "negative forces" along with four Congolese who were with them near the village of Ngombe in Kasai Central.

"Going to places where few people go, asking questions that few people ask, finding out the truth, this is the work of United Nations experts," said Emilie Serralta, a former coordinator of the UN Congo group. "This is how the reports and recommendations (guiding) the Security Council are written."

Kamuina Nsapu militants pose an increasingly serious threat to President Joseph Kabila, whose decision to stay on beyond the end of his elected mandate last December has sent ripples of unrest across the vast mining powerhouse.

UN figures indicate that over 400 people have been killed in violence in which militants have been blamed for atrocities and government forces are accused of targeting civilians.

Local officials said on Saturday militiamen decapitated about 40 police officers in the deadliest attack on the security forces since the uprising began last year.


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4 min read
Published 29 March 2017 11:04pm
Updated 30 March 2017 8:17am
Source: AAP


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