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DR Congo: two solders arrested for killing priest


Two soldiers have been arrested for the murder of a Catholic priest in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The 42-year-old parish priest of Saint Jean-Baptiste de Kanyabayonga, Fr Christian Bakulene was killed on 8 November, 2010.

According to reports from the DIA Agency in Kinshasa, the two men accused of murder of the priest are soldiers of the FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

According to DIA, the arrest of the two soldiers is the first result of an investigation by the Joint Commission created to investigate the murder, consisting of representatives of the FARDC, the military prosecutor's office, local government and police services.

The killing took place not far from a base of FARDC and the local population has long complained of the grave insecurity, which they say is linked to the fact that Congolese soldiers sent into the area are former rebels from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), which after a peace deal with Kinshasa were integrated into the regular armed forces.

According to local civil society, in reality this integration has allowed the rebels to continue to prey upon the population of the area with impunity, wearing the uniforms of the national army.

In some areas of the territory of Lubero, the people have staged protests to demand the withdrawal of the army from the area.

Source: CISA

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